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MEMOIRS OF AN ANTI-ZIONIST JEW PDF

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BDntr »wtw The Institute for Palestine Studies MEMOIRS OF AN ANTI-ZIONIST JEW BY ELMER BERGER uunny ofP(rtro 0«h»r«n. s»u«* Ambtv THE INSTITUTE FOR PALESTINE STUDIES 1978 The Institute for Palestine Studies is an independent non-profit Arab research organisation not affiliated to any governmenty political party or group, devoted to a better understanding of the Palestine problemBooks in the Institute series are published in the interest of public information. They represent the free expression of their authors and do not necessarily indicate the judgement or opinions of the Institute. Copyright © 1978 by the Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut Monograph Series No. 48 THE INSTITUTE FOR PALESTINE STUDIES Anis Nsouli Street, Verdun —P.O. Box 11-7164 BEIRUT, LEBANON CONTENTS Page Introduction . i Chapter I The Beginning. 1 Chapter II Letting People Know. 9 Chapter III Coping with “the Reality” of Israel. 27 Chapter IV The Years Between. 77 Chapter V 1967 — The End of Innocence. 108 Chapter VI A New Beginning. 131 INTRODUCTION When Dr. Elmer Berger, in response to the invitation of Dr. Hisham Sharabi, editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, wrote his “Memoirs of an Anti-Zionist Jew,”1 the members of the Editorial Board of the Journal and its editor were deeply impressed with the high quality and permanent contribution of those reminiscences. I am sure that this impression has been shared by readers of the Journal, whether or not they were previously acquainted with Dr. Berger’s relentless endea¬ vour for justice and peace in Palestine. Dr. Berger was then requested to expand these “Memoirs” for separate publication by the Institute for Palestine Studies, and I was given the privilege of writing an introduction. I accepted this assignment with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I regarded it, as I said, a privilege to present to the reading public this stirring account of a dedicated life which many like myself have followed with admiration and respect. But, on the other, I have felt that any comment that I may be able to make on it would either be superfluous or would spoil its effect on the reader. The Memoirs speak for themselves. They present the facts so simply and they ring with such sincerity and conviction that they gain immediate access to the reader’s mind and heart. For this reason, I will try to be brief, hoping to avoid any interference with the impact which Dr. Berger’s account will, I am sure, have on any one who will have the opportunity to read it and to be inspired by it as I personally have been. Dr. Berger’s life and work have been distinguished both by his deep insights into one of today’s most harassing problems—the problem of Palestine —and by his courage and persistence in defend- 1 Journal of Palestine Studies, N° 17/18 (Autumn 1975/Winter 1976), pp. 3-55. ii INTRODUCTION ing the truths that these insights revealed. He has regarded it as his duty to expose the blind neglect and deliberate distortion of those truths and to combat the pernicious attitudes, policies and decisions which resulted from this neglect and distortion. His struggle has been one of the few noteworthy and consistent attempts to go to the heart of the issue and “to advocate the fundamentals.’’2 For there is perhaps no problem in human history which has been surrounded with as much misrepresentation, deception and emotional manipul¬ ation as has been the problem of Palestine. The Zionists have created and put into operation such a powerful machinery of information, or rather of misinformation, of calumniation and of intimidation that the fundamentals have not been allowed to appear; they have been almost completely submerged by a mass of untruths and irrele- vancies. What are the fundamentals ? They are, briefly, that the Palestinians have long been denied the universally recognized right of self- determination ; that they stand today as a people who is denied this right, not only in fact, but also—by the Zionists and their mighty supporters—in principle as well; that they have been deprived of their ancestral homeland and are presently living either as second- class citizens in Israel, or under direct domination in the occupied territories or as refugees in other Arab countries; that they have been dispossessed of most of their property; that they have endured tragic misery and suffering and have been forced to take up arms and to battle for their rights; and that, in spite of all of this, they still have a long, tortuous and bloody way to go before they win recognition and implementation of these rights. Equally fundamental, on the other side of the picture, is the aggressive, colonizing character of the world Zionist movement which, through its widespread influence in Western countries —and now primarily in the US —has succeeded in robbing the Palestinians of their rights, in establishing the state of Israel on their historical land and in building up Israel’s military power to serve its domineering expansionist ideology and policies. This influence has reached such an extent that Israel has been able to disregard UN decisions arrogantly and with impunity, to resist pressure by governments and public 2 See p. 153 of the text. INTRODUCTION iii opinion, and to demand acquiescence in its own terms and conditions (as evidenced by the results of President Sadat’s peace initiative). It is even questionable whether Israel and the world Zionist movement behind it have ever wanted peace, since much of their support comes as a result of their falsely manipulated appeals for assistance to defend their “security”—a support which will undoubtedly dwindle once peace and real security have been established. The fundamentals have, as I said, been veiled by a vast array of untruths and irrelevancies which Zionism has not ceased to evolve and to spread, such as: that the Jews are a nation as well as a people; that their God has promised them the land of Palestine; that they “have made the desert bloom” and brought to the whole Middle East the benefits of technological development and progress; that Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East and forms the bastion of democracy in the region; that it serves and protects Western inter¬ ests against communist infiltration in an area which, through its oil wealth, has become vital to those interests; and so on. These and other untruths and irrelevancies, when properly exam¬ ined, reveal two anachronistic and dangerous concepts—that of a theocratic society whose people have been singled out by God for a unique mission in Palestine, and that of colonization with a mission civilisatrice which justifies conquest and exploitation through superior technological capacity. The winds of change have played havoc with these outdated concepts, but they are still alive and dominant in Zionism. Through his own personal activities, and through the American Council for Judaism of which he was for two decades the organizing mind and the moving spirit, Dr. Berger fought to expose these untruths and irrelevancies, to point out their evil implications in the ugly machinations of the Zionists and in the dangerous and inequitable policies and decisions of the U.S. government, and to call attention to the basic human rights and values which they violate. If Dr. Berger’s advocacy and defence of fundamentals stirs our admiration, we are no less struck by the spirit in which he has carried on this task. No one who has followed his career, or who reads the following pages, will fail to be impressed by the sincerity of his IV INTRODUCTION conviction, his personal courage and the depth of his commitment. These qualities assume their due measure when they are viewed in the light of the formidable odds with which he or any other seeker of the truth about the Palestine problem is confronted: the ruthless and wide- flung Zionist machine particularly in the US, the pressures which it exerts, and the intimidations and subtle attacks to which it resorts, especially in the case of a Jew who is considered to have deserted the flock and betrayed the cause. Even the American Council for Judaism had ultimately, following the 1967 war, to flinch in the face of these pressures, and Dr. Berger found himself forced to resign from it. But he remained undaunted and continued to pursue his light through the American Jewish Alternatives to Zionism and otherwise. In this life-long fight and his disdain of its dangers, Dr. Berger has been moved and strengthened by three basic convictions: the uni¬ versal moral and spiritual message of Judaism and the dangers which are brought to it by the “racist, discriminatory political sov- ereignization of Zionism;”3 the fact that Zionism is contrary to every principle he cherished as an American;4 and the priority of principle over expediency and of morality and justice over the cynical improvisations of political “leaders.”5 Although, after thirty-odd years of struggle. Dr. Berger says: “In a sense, I suppose I feel I have fpaid my dues,5”6 yet, as he looks to¬ wards the future, he hopes “to be around for some time” and believes that it is not yet time for him to write the last chapter.7 We wish him continued health and good fortune so that he will remain around for many more years, for “the effort to make morality and reason the directors of the scenario must continue.”8 We hope that he will live to see his dreams realized in a just and peaceful conclusion of the Pales¬ tinian tragedy and to write the last chapter of this admirable account of his involvement in it. In these wishes and hopes we include also his wife Ruth—his constant companion and support. 3 p. 57. 4 P* 2. 5 p. 144. 6 p. 140. 7 p. 157. 8 p. 141. INTRODUCTION v The Institute for Palestine Studies is proud to be associated in the publication of these Memoirs and takes this opportunity to pay tribute to its author—a remarkable Jew and US citizen, and a man who stands “upon those great, monumental rocks of human values which, despite the parochialism of so much of life, are the genuine universalisms.”9 C.K. Zurayk

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