| Einstein's Last
Hope: Israel Secure in a World at Peace |
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"My Relationship to the Jewish
People has Become My Strongest Human Bond Ever Since I Became Fully Aware
of Our Precarious Situation Among the Nations of the World."
"Gradually
relations will be established with the Arab people based
on fruitful cooperation and mutual respect and trust" |
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1950
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| Einstein broadcast: World government is needed
to forestall future wars between nations. |
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ISRAEL:
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Immigrants
double Israel's population in 3 years
600,000 new immigrants arrive in nation's first
three years. About half are Holocaust survivors - many of them traumatized
in mind and body. Others are fleeing or were expelled from Arab
countries. Einstein takes their plight as his cause.
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Einstein: Jewish Refugee Camps a Disgrace
For
a hundred thousand out of more than three hundred thousand
persons who immigrated to Israel since May, 1948, no
homes or work could be made available. They had to be
concentrated in improvised camps under conditions which
are a disgrace to all of us.
1949 speech raising funds to
rehabilitate refugees, move them out of camps and integrate
them into Israeli society
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Temporary Jewish refugee camps
"a disgrace" - Einstein
Hundreds
of thousands of Jewish refugees temporarily settled in tent
cities (ma'abarot).
Over the next decade their
population will be
gradually absorbed into Israeli society . The
means to absorb refugee immigrants is raised by Jewish communities
abroad.
It is a cause Einstein champions.
The
ma'abarot
last until 1958.
Israel passes "Law
of Return"
With a large percentage of the population having
personally been refused refuge and thoroughly traumatized by the
annihilation of their loved ones, the new law grants every Jew
automatic right to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen. Non-Jews
may apply for Israeli citizenship through standard naturalization
process.
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ON ISRAEL'S SURROUNDING BORDERS: |
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Arab
states confine Palestinian refugees to camps indefinitely
Syria, Egypt, Lebanon confine displaced Palestinian Arabs in camps
similar to ma'abarot , but deny them means of integrating.
Only Jordan offers citizenship. |
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Israel suffers cross-border attacks
launched from Jordan and Egypt. At first displaced Arab peasants sneaking
back to pick crops, retrieve valuables. Soon they are organized by Jordanian
and Egyptian militaries to carry out sabotage and terror attacks.
Israel develops policy of harsh retaliatory strikes
, usually by small commando units.
Policy intended to motivate host governments (Egypt and Jordan) to crack
down on terrorist raids and infiltration originating from their territory.
Attacks and counter attacks steadily increase in
frequency and brutality over next few years |
US,
Britain and France ban weapons sales to mideast combatants.
"Tripartite Declaration" seemed to reduce arms, but actually sough to block Russia from getting a foothold by selling arms. |
Israel abandons original "neutrality" between US-Soviets (which remains Einstein's position)
When Korean War breaks out Israel sides with US |
Einstein bequeaths his entire literary estate
and papers to Hebrew University, Jerusalem |
| 1951 |
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USA:
Israel nears bankruptcy caring for refugee influx. Ben
Gurion flies to US to raise private funds, meets Einstein.
Einstein buys the 200,000th $500 Israel bond |
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Israel's
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion
Visiting US Jewish leaders Ben Gurion meets Einstein at Princeton in May 1951. |
May 1951
Prime Minister Ben Gurion on unofficial trip
to the US at invitation of Jewish organizations.
(Ben Gurion meets secretly with General Walter
Bedell-Smith, head of the CIA. Until then, the Americans had rejected
every Israeli request to establish a clandestine liaison between
the two countries, for fear that its discovery would harm their
ties with the Arab world. Also, US feared Israeli socialism.
Trade Secrets by Yossi Melman (Haaretz,
March 28, 2006)
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June 25
Einstein sister Maja dies.
Einstein is devastated. She has become closer than
either of his two wives.
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| IRAQ: |
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Iraqi Jews airlifted to Israel:
Operation Ezra and Nehemiah
From 1951 to 1952, approximately 120,000 desperate
Jews are airlifted from Iraq to Israel. After seizing their assets the
Iraqi government hopes to overwhelm Israel's already strained infrastructure. |
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Baghdad Jews register to leave for Israel, though
it means forfeiting their assets.
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JORDANIAN-OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM: |
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July 20, 1951
Jordan's King Abdullah assassinated by Mufti Amin al-Husseini's gunman
As his grandson (future King
Hussein) looks on King Abdullah is shot dead by a lone nineteen year old
Palestinian gunman on the steps of al-Aqsa Mosque where he has come for
Friday prayers.
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| The scene inside the Aqsa Mosque,
in Jerusalem, after the assassination of King Abdullah of Jordan,
July 20, 1951, showing the body of Mustafa Shukri El-Asho, the King's
slayer, lying where he fell. Police and Arab Legion authorities are
seated at the table. (AP Photo-original caption) |
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Egypt:
Egypt refuses
to stop blocking Israeli shipping, claims it's still at war with Israel
Egypt
refuses UN Security Council's call to end blockade. It violates armistice agreement that ended 1948 war.
November 21
UN's Palestine
Conciliation Commission gives up in failure.
Established 1948, it had attempted to negotiate a just
settlement but parties are unable to come to terms.
One ongoing concern is Article 11:
[R]efugees wishing to return
to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should
be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and
that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing
not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under
principles of international law or in equity, should be made
good by the Governments or authorities responsible.
Israel argues that Jewish
refugees are included, Arabs reject considering Jewish refugees.
Also rejected: Israeli offer to make nonaggression pacts with Arab states,
direct negotiations and compensation for Arab refugee's property.
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| 1952 |
| EGYPT:
January
Anti-British rioting in Egypt. Egyptian nationalists
want Brits out.
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British Military Police affix "Out of Bounds"
posters to the walls in the Arab section of Ismalia, Egypt, March
20, 1952. The British Army is pulling out of the area after clearing
it of terrorists and having many battles between Egyptian police
and British troops. (AP photo, original caption) |
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British families require military
protection from Egyptian nationalists seeking to drive them out.
Here they are guarded while shopping in Ismalia, near the Suez Canal
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July
Nasser leads Egyptian "Free Officers"
to topple King Faruq
Anti-British actions intensify |
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Gamal Abdul Nasser leads junior officers of "Free Officers
Movement" overthrow Egyptian King Farouk and oust his British
advisors as a step in recovering from national disgrace of losing
war with Israel.
Another revenge: Muslim Brotherhood assassinates the Egyptian
Prime Minister
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Nasser
with Mufti Amin al-Husseini, both members of Muslim Brotherhood
Ruling over the "All-Palestine" government (in fact confined
to the Egyptian-occupied Gaza strip) the Mufti clings to a vestige
of power. Hitler had assured him he would rule as Fuehrer of the
Arabs and implement a Final Solution on the Jews of Palestine. |
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Mufti places wanted Nazis into Egyptian, Syrian militaries into Egyptian military
ODESSA network helps Nazis flee Europe |
USA: |
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National Science Foundation fellowship
winners from Yeshiva University meet the world's most famous scientist |
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Einstein
sponsors Jewish Agency's Israel Summer Institute
Vacation work-study program for American students and educators
Abraham Pais, Einstein Lived Here,
Oxford; Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press,1995, pg. 228 |
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LUXEMBOURG:
September
Israel and West Germany Sign Reparations Agreement
in Luxembourg.
Payments from Germans are for material claims
on wages owed Jewish slaves, Jewish property confiscated by Nazi government.
Reparations are bitterly opposed from both Israeli right and left as indicating
a measure of forgiveness for the unforgivable. In face of ongoing
economic crises and austerity measures, practical economic need for resettling
survivors wins out.
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| Menachem Begin addresses a rally protesting German reparations payments.
Accepting German money, he argues, extends a measure of forgiveness
for the unforgivable crime. |
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EINSTEIN
AND THE ISRAEL PRESIDENCY
Einstein
is offered Presidency of Israel.
He regretfully declines.
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November 18
Einstein is
offered Presidency of Israel.
He regretfully declines.
November
After Chaim Weizmann's death Ben Gurion and Israeli cabinet
decide to offer presidency to Einstein and instructed Abba Eban to transmit
offer. Shortly thereafter Ben Gurion asks his secretary, “ What
are we going to do if he accepts?"; (Abraham
Pais, Subtle is the Lord, pg. 11)
Therefore, whatever your response
to this question, I hope that you will think generously of
those who have asked it and will commend the high purpose
and motives which prompted them to think of you at this solemn
hour in our people's history.
Yours respectfully,
ABBA EBAN
Einstein on Peace Pg 172
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Einstein Declines Israel Presidency
I am deeply
moved by the offer from our State of Israel, and am at once
saddened and ashamed that I cannot accept it. All my life I
have dealt with objective matters, hence I lack both the natural
aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and
to exercise official functions… I am the more distressed
over these circumstances because my relationship to the Jewish
people has become my strongest human bond, ever since I became
fully aware of our precarious situation among the nations of
the world.
from Einstein's letter declining the
offered Presidency of the new State of Israel. Quoted in Jamie
Sayen, Einstein in America, The Scientist's Conscience
in the Age of Hitler and Hiroshima, Crown, New
York (1985) p247
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More on
Why He Declined
If
I were president, sometimes I would have to say to the people
of Israel things they would not like to hear.
Comment to Margot Einstein,
on his decision to decline the offered Presidency of the new
State of Israel. Quoted in Sayen, Jamie, Einstein in
America, The Scientist's Conscience in the Age of Hitler
and Hiroshima, Crown, New York (1985), 247
I
was deeply touched by the offer from my Israeli brothers. But
I declined at once with really sincere regret. It is quite true
that many a rebel has in the end become a figure of respectability,
even a big shot; but I cannot bring myself to do so. We shall
have to be satisfied, as before, with fuming at the brethren
from here at home.
Letter to Austrian artist Josef
Scharl quoted in Jamie Sayen, Einstein in America, The
Scientist's Conscience in the Age of Hitler and Hiroshima,
Crown, New York (1985), pg. 247
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Portrait of Einstein by Austrian
émigré artist Joseph Scharl to whom Einstein explained
his regretful declining of the Israel Presidency offer.
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The matter
is not quite as simple as you think. In the first place I lack
all experience in the field of practical politics. In the second
place, as President I should have had to assume moral responsibility
for the decisions of others, decisions which I myself could not
have affected in the least. Thus, acceptance of the office would
quite likely have led to disappointments rather than accomplishments.
It is quite true that our (Israel's] situation
has once again become perilous and that we lack all power to check
the danger. But when I look at Russia and America, I cannot help
wondering whether we [Israel] would behave more sensibly if we
were as powerful as they are.
February 11, 1953 letter to an Italian
f friend quoted in: Albert Einstein, Otto
Nathan, Heinz Norden, Einstein on Peace,
Simon and Schuster, 1960, p574
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1953 |
| USA: |
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Einstein concedes to allow Yeshiva
University's new School of Medicine to be named for him |
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Eisenhower beats Truman. Republican administration
makes friendly overtures toward the Arab states
US is seeking to promote a regional Middle East Defense
Organization against Communism.
February 11
Soviet Union breaks relations with Israel . That day Einstein writes:
Einstein: Israel
in Danger
It is quite true that our [Israel's]
situation has once again become perilous and that we lack all
power to check the danger. But when I look at Russia and America,
I cannot help wondering whether we [Israel] would behave more
sensibly if we were as powerful as they are.
February 11, 1953 letter to an Italian f riend
quoted in: Albert Einstein, Otto Nathan, Heinz Norden, Einstein
on Peace, Simon and Schuster, 1960,
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Secretary of State Dulles tours Arab countries, Israel
Dulles returns, makes speech -- gist:
US must dispel Arab anger at Israel's creation
Otherwise, they may go communist
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Einstein:
"This man Dulles is a real misfortune!"see below
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, former
assistant to Secretary of State Dean Acheson (shown in 1952 AP photo) |
Dulles promotes a "New Look"
in US foreign policy to contain communism
New US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles promotes new strategy: less
reliance on armed confrontation with its nuclear risks, more emphasis
on alliances and covert operations by CIA (run by his brother Allen
Dulles).
MIDDLE EAST:
First major covert CIA operation: Coup in Iran
restores deposed monarch (the Shah)
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ISRAEL-JORDAN BORDER:
Night of October 14-15
Faced with ongoing fedayeen attacks, Israel retaliates
against Arab village Qibya
Israeli army anti-terror Unit 101 retaliates for ongoing
fedayeen attacks (350 killed in prior three years - most immediately,
the killing of an Israeli mother and her two infants the preceding night).
Israeli commandos cross armistice line into then-Jordan, attack village
of Qibya where terrorists originated. Many Qibya civilians killed. Israel
condemned worldwide. Commander of Unit 101: 25-year old Arial Sharon.
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| Israeli anti-terror Unit 101 (1955 photo) |
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| 1954 |
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January
Einstein's last
publication, with Israeli Bruria Kaufman
(his assistant since 1950)
A graduate of Hebrew University, who later moved to Kibbutz Mishmar
Ha'Emek in Israel. Following Einstein's death Kaufman gave the final
progress report on Einstein's Unified Filed Theory at a conference in
Switzerland. (Abraham Pais, Subtle
is the Lord, pg.497) |
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1954 Bruria Kaufman
The kibbutznik-physicist is Einstein's last scientific collaborator.
(24 years earlier her husband had invited Einstein to speak to
a US college Zionists group link.
Einstein's message then: Zionism must benefit Arabs, too.)
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Einstein Nominates
'Youth Aliya'
for Nobel Peace Prize
I
have the honor of recommending for your consideration for the
forthcoming award of the Noble peace prize the international
organization known as Youth Alija[sic] , through which children
from 72 countries have been rescued and rehabilitated in Israel. link
March 3, 1954 letter to Nobel
Committee
Abraham Pais, Subtle is the Lord, Oxford (Oxfordshire);
Oxford University Press,1982
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Einstein Thanks
Man Who Introduced Him to Zionism
I thank
you, even at this late hour, for having helped me become aware
of my Jewish soul.
Letter To Kurt Blumenfeld, who introduced
him to Zionism in 1919 (link),
quoted in Dukas and Hoffmann, Albert Einstein, the Human
Side, Princeton University Press (1979) pg 64
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March 14
Einstein celebrates his 75th birthday.
A week later he receives word of death of his old
friend Michele Besso.
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Einstein: Jewish
Values Dictate Israel Should Develop as a Spiritual, Not Materialistic
Society
Israel
is the only place on earth where Jews have the possibility
to shape public life according to their own traditional ideals
...In our tradition it is neither the ruler nor the politician,
neither the soldier nor the merchant, who represents the ideal.
The ideal is represented by the teacher who ... enrich[es]
the intellectual, moral, and artistic life of the people.
This implies a definite repudiation of what is commonly called
'materialism'. Human beings can attain a worthy and
harmonious life only if they are able to rid themselves, within
the limits of human nature, of the striving for the wish fulfillments
of material kinds. The goal is to raise the spiritual values
of society.
From an address to planning conference of
Friends of Hebrew University, Princeton, NJ Sept 19, 1954
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MIDDLE EAST:
Israel-Arab conflict
complicates US strategy for keeping Arabs out of Soviet sphere.
US
tries for Arab-Israeli peace, proposes "Alpha Peace
Plan"
Reconfigure armistice lines, demilitarize borders, refugee solution, international
guarantees for Israel security.
Plan goes nowhere.
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US gives military, economic aid
to Iraq -alarming Israel
Unlike other 1948 Arab combatant states, Iraq has never
even signed an armistice and is still technically in a shooting war with
Israel
July
In Egypt, bombing of British, US cultural institutions, not what they appear.
Israeli spies try to sow discord, thwart British withdrawal. Revelation of the plot topples Israeli government.
July
In Egypt, the former mufi publishes: "The Truth Concdrning the Palestinian Problem
He repeats claim that leading Zionists publicly called for the Dome of the Rock to be replaced with a rebuilt Jewish temple, but this time doesn't mention Einstein. |
Sudden spike in Palestinian fedayeen raids against Israel from
Egyptian-held Gaza strip.
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| March 16: Terrorists stop an Israeli bus travelling
from Tel Aviv to Eilat at Scorpions Pass in the Negev desert and murder
eleven passengers. |
Next week Nasser launches continous harassment raids
against Israel
One attacks wedding celebration in Kibbutz Moshav Patish.
Israel responnds by attcking Egyptian positions in Gaza. . Egyptians counter
with large scale infiltration, attacks. Israel responds August 31 by destroying
Egyptian police station in Gaza Strip.
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September 29
Egypt seizes Israeli ship in Suez Canal, tortures Israeli sailors.
Israel had tried to assert its right to free navigation
through the international waterway by sending through a commercial vessel, the SS Bat Galim.
October 19
Britain to Nasser: All Brit troops will be out of Egypt by June 1956
Israel worries. Will British pull out embolden Nasser to attack?
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Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Without British restraint,
will he attack? Israeli planners worry. (AP Photo) |
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Muslim Brotherhood attempts
to assassinate Nasser
His revolution is secular. They expected
him to institute Islamic Law.
PRELUDE
TO THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
1928
Al-Bana forms Muslim Brotherhood, a youth group dedicated to social
renewal through Islam.
1930s
Al-Bana creates " secret apparatus" (al-Tanzim
al-Has), military wing of Muslim Brotherhood .
Muslim Brotherhood operates mideast spy network for Nazi Germany..
1942
Muslim Brotherhood branches in Palestine, Transjordan
1946
Mufti Amin al-Husseini named Muslim Brotherhood leader of Palestine--in absentia, as he is under arrest by Allies for genocidal war crimes perpetrated in WWII
1947
Mufti escapes custody, makes way to Egypt, declares jihad to stop Palestinian Jews from independence. Muslim Brotherhood's "secret apparatus" joins Mufti's forces.
(Among them, young Yassir Arafat, a relative of the Mufti)
1948,
December 28
Muslim Brother assassinates
Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmud Nokrashi in
revenge for inept Egyptian military's failure to stop Jews' independence.
Egyptian government bans the group.
1949
Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Banna assassinated by Egyptian
police
1952
Group supports Free Officers coup, expects Islamic state to replace
corrupt Egyptian monarchy. Angered by Nasser's secular socialism
1954
Muslim Brotherhood attempts to assasinate Nasser. Egyptian dictator cracks down on the group
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Angry
Mobs Attack Muslim Brotherhood
Participants of a vengeful mob gather around the burning headquarters
of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, Egypt, after setting it on fire
in retaliation of an attempted assassination of President Gamal Abdel
Nasser, October 27, 1954. A member of the Islamic fundamentalist brotherhood
fired eight shots at the Premier while he was speaking in Alexandria.
A public Cairo statement announced the arrest of 60 brotherhood members,
including four of its supreme councilmen. (AP photo with original
caption) |
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Nasser Suppresses
Muslim Brotherhood
Egyptian plumber Mohammed Abdel Latif, second left in white shirt,
flanked by two guards, listens to the presiding judge Gamal Salem,
centre right, read his death sentence, at a people's tribunal in
Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 4, 1954. Latif fired eight shots at Premier Nasser
in Alexandria on Oct. 26th. (AP photo with original caption)
more |
Sayyid Qutb imprisoned,
tortured
Leading theorist of modern Islamism
Jailed by Nasser in the crackdown is Muslim
Brotherhood figure Sayyid Qurb, the 20th century jihad intellectual
most cited by today's global jihadis (Atlantic
Monthly, Jan-Feb 2007 pg. 42) He will
be in prison 10 years and ultimately executed. |
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An anti-Communist alliance of Muslim states is championed
by Britain
Baghdad Pact of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey hopes
to thwart Soviet inroads in mideast. Israel wary of regional
alliance that excludes them.
Snubbed, Nasser rails against the pact as British trick to control Arabs.
His fiery broadcasts stir anti-British riots. |
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1954-55
Baghdad Pact
Britain leads a treaty among pro-Western, anti-Communist Iraq, Iran,
Pakistan and Turkey, leaving out Egypt. Nasser's opposition sparks
violent anti-British protests. |
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Sept 27
Egypt tilts to Soviets,
gets Soviet arms. Israel feels threatened.
Egypt makes good on its warning if no arms from US it
will go elsewhere; gets Czech tanks. Other snubs to US follow:
Egypt recognizes Maoist China, backs Algerian rebels, encourages Nasserite
radicals in Jordan.
By defying the West and getting arms to use against Israel, Nasser's status
among Arabs soars. |
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US and Britain court Nasser by helping build the
Aswan Dam.
Israeli requests to buy US arms to balance Egypt, is
denied - Israel stunned
Israel gets arms from France.
"Sacrificing
Israel" to woo Arabs? Einstein worries. |
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Einstein's last opening address
for the United Jewish Appeal
Historical Society of Princeton |
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1955
Einstein: "We"
[Israel] must remain neutral between US-Soviets. |
Einstein: Israel
Must Be Neutral in Cold War
We [the
State of Israel] must adopt a policy of neutrality concerning
the international antagonism between East and West. By adopting
a neutral position, we would not only make a modest contribution
to the curtailment of the conflict in the world as a whole,
but would, at the same time, also facilitate the development
of sound, neighborly relations with the various governments
in the Arab world.
Letter To Zvi Lurie [a prominent Jewish Agency
official], January 5, 1955
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Einstein: On Israel's
Arab Minority
The
most important aspect of our policy must be our ever- present,
manifest desire to institute complete equality for the Arab
citizens living in our midst, and to appreciate the inherent
difficulties of their present situation. If we pursue such a
policy, we shall gain loyal citizens and, even more, we shall,
slowly but surely, improve our relations with the Arab world.
In this respect, the Kibbutz movement is an excellent example.
The attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide
the real test of our moral standards as a people.
Letter To Zvi Lurie, January 5, 1955
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| Eleanor Roosevelt visits Jewish Moroccan children
in transit through Campous, France on their way (and hers) to Israel. |
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Left: Vera Weizmann, widow of the Zionist statesman Chaim, Right:
former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, at an Israeli agricultural
school in 1955.
A long time advocate of Zionism, Roosevelt in 1948 capped a long
career as a humanitarian activist by chairing the committee that
drew up the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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EINSTEIN'S
LAST THOUGHTS: ISRAEL SAFE, THE WORLD AT PEACE
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| EGYPT: |
| February |
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Nasser meets British Prime Minister Eden
Eden : Stop anti-British radio broadcasts, Join the anti-Communist
Baghdad Pact
Nasser: No to both |
ISRAELI - EGYPTIAN BORDER:
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| 28 February 1955 One week after the meeting between Eden and Nasser,
Israel raids Egyptian territory in Gaza. Thirty-eight Egyptian soldiers killed, 31 wounded in devastating attack exposing Egypt's military weakness. |
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Nasser goes on desperate quest for arms
Turned down by Britain and US , Egypt turned to the Soviet Bloc -
a major coup for Russians. |
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Nasser tilts to USSR
July, 1955. Left: Nasser with Dmitri Shepilov, editor of the Soviet
News agency Tass and future Soviet Foreign Minister. They negotiate
a deal to equip Egypt with modern Soviet-designed Czech tanks like
that on the right. |
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| USA: |
| March |
Einstein: Dulles'
"Morally Objectionable" Policy
Of course, I regret the constant
state of tension existing between Israel and the Arab states.
Such tension could hardly have been avoided in view of the nationalistic
attitude of both sides, which has only been intensified by the
war and its implications. Worst of all has been the policy of
the new Administration in the United States [the Eisenhower
Administration], which, due to its own imperialist and militaristic
interests, seeks to win the sympathy of the Arab nations by
sacrificing Israel. As a consequence, the very existence of
Israel has become seriously imperiled by the armament efforts
of her enemies. This man Dulles is a real misfortune! While
pretending to serve the cause of peace, he in fact threatens
everybody, hoping thereby to achieve his imperialist aims without
becoming involved in a "big" war. Such a policy is
not only morally objectionable but will prove dangerous to the
United States in the long run. How few people realize this!
In a surprisingly brief time, they have come to accept this
shortsighted militaristic point of view.
March 8, Letter to
an Indian Friend Einstein on Peace p. 638
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April 11
Einstein signs appeal against US-Soviet
arms race
Drawn up by British mathematician-philosopher Bertrand Russell
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Bertrand Russell reads the manifesto
cosigned by Einstein at a press conference in London, July 9, 1955,
shortly after Einstein's death
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| Einstein's final Zionist gesture |
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For Israel's seventh Independence
Day Einstein is asked to prepare a statement
celebrating the young country's scientific and cultural achievements.
Einstein: The Life and Times,
World Publishing (1971) p 627
EINSTEIN'S RESPONSE
TO REQUEST FOR
ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH
I should
very much like to assist the cause of Israel in the difficult
and dangerous conditions prevailing today. The question is how
this can be done most effectively. I believe the public would
hardly be impressed by an address merely on the cultural and
scientific achievements of Israel, of which the development
of atomic energy for peaceful uses is rather a special and relatively
minor aspect. In view of the fact that the Israeli-Arab difficulties
are so much more on the public mind, I do not consider the subject
of Israel's cultural and scientific developments as having particular
relevance at this time.
I feel, therefore, that to make any impact on public opinion,
such an address should attempt to appraise the political situation.
In fact, I tend to believe that a somewhat critical analysis
of the policies of the Western nations with regard to Israel
and the Arab states might be most effective.
Albert
Einstein, Otto Nathan, Heinz Norden, Einstein
on Peace,
Simon and Schuster, 1960
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Reuven Dafni, Israeli diplomat
(in an earlier photo, from WWII, when he served as a British paratrooper)
He and Israel's Foreign Minister Abba Eban met with Einstein to
assist Einstein with his last Zionist speech. |
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Too weak
to travel, Einstein offers to record a speech for Israel's Independence
Day broadcast.
Rather than address Israel's scientific achievements Einstein feels he should speak to Arab-Israel relations
instead. He asks help from Israeli ambassador Abba Eban
and Consul Reuven Dafni. They arrived at his house on April 11. Eban later
wrote:
Professor Einstein told me he
saw the rebirth of Israel as one of the few political acts in
his lifetime which has an essential moral quality. He believed
that the conscience of the world should, therefore, be involved
in Israel's preservation. He had always refused the requests
of television and and radio networks to project his views to
public opinion. This issue, however, seemed to him of such importance
that he was actually taking the initiative..
Ronald W. Clark, Einstein:
The Life and Times, World Publishing (1971)
pg 627
Einstein in pain the following
day,
but works on his Israel Independence Day speech: |
EINSTEIN'S LAST
WRITING:
Israel Independence Day Address
draft of Einstein's proposed speech
I speak
to you today not as an American citizen and not as a Jew, but
as a human being who seeks with the greatest seriousness to
look at things objectively. What I seek to accomplish is simply
to serve with my feeble capacity truth and justice at the risk
of pleasing no one.
At issue is the conflict between Israel
and Egypt. You may consider this a small and insignificant problem
and may feel that there are more serious things to worry about.
But this is not true. In mat- matters concerning truth and justice
there can be no distinction between big problems and small;
for the general principles which determine the conduct of men
are indivisible. Whoever is careless with the truth in small
matters cannot be trusted in important af- fairs.
This indivisibility applies not only
to moral but also to political problems; for little problems cannot
be properly appreciated unless they are understood in their interdependence
with big problems. And the big problem in our time is the division
of mankind into two hostile camps: the Communist World and the
so-called Free World.
|
|
|
April 13
Dafni returns two days later to review
Einstein's draft, as arranged
Einstein collapses
Two hours after Dafni's second visit. He is taken to Princeton
Hospital, bringing his notes for the speech and some equations.
Sunday, April 17
Einstein feeling a little better,
asks for his Israel speech draft,
He also works on his latest Unified Field Theory equations. He confided
in Otto Nathan that he is close to success.
Monday , April 18 1:00 AM
Einstein awakens, cries out in severe pain.
Nurse rushes in. Einstein
speaks his last words— in German.
She does not understand. Minutes later he dies.
The Unified Field Theory equations and the
draft of his Israel Independence Day speech remain unfinished at his bedside.
 |
| Handwritten draft of Einstein's Yom Ha'Atzmaut
(Israel Independence Day) speech is at his bedside when he dies. |
END |
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