As the events of the Holocaust were coming to light and the Displaced Person problems plagued Europe, Jewish survivors saw this as a chance to get out of Europe. THey saw this as a time in which they could start over and begin a new life with their fellow survivors in a new land, a new state called Isreal. Isreal had been a dream for many of the Jewish faith for a long time, but with the events of the Holocaust, the process was definitely sped up. But was this a good thing?
As Jews all over Europe began to rebuild themselves after the devastation of war, government workers had to find places for the millions of people everywhere that needed new homes, jobs, and countries. For Jews, especially those in Germany, some felt that Europe was no longer a home and that a new land would be needed for them to get back on their feet. As populations troubles continued all over Europe, the higher powers began to put into effect the idea of a Jewish state help relieve these issues. Chief among them was Britten and the zones they governed. This allowed the placement of Jews in the area that would be called Iseral seeing how at the time it was under British control. With the establishment of the new state, new workers would be needed for to fuel it. This meant the establishment of ways to generate food, which was the chief need for a growing a nation. As more and more Jews thought of leaving Europe, they began to take up farming in order to be prepared for when they get to the new nation and be ready to support its growth (pg. 99, Living in Landsberg, Dreaming of Deganiah: Jewish Displaced Youths and Zionism after the Holocaust by Avinoam J. Patt).
As they prepared for their new lives, few understood why Israel was being offered to them. I believe the end of Extraterritorial Jews by he sums up the ideas that UN had: “Expounding on his ideas during the uncertain period leading to the UN Partition Plan of November 1947, Nathan Feinberg still had plausible reasons to doubt the ‘international recognition of the existence of the Jewish people and of its right to national life in Palestine.’ But after a cataclysmic war during which Nazi and other anti-Jewish policies were taken to their most extreme levels without the interference of any major countervailing force, Holocaust survivors triggered an unprecedented philosemitic moment in postwar international politics” (pg.25). If we look at this way, for it not had been for the Holocaust the and the terrible deeds committed against the Jews, they would have never received the land for their new state. It is the international community’s way of saying sorry for what had happened, but to the individual Jew, it was seen more of an escape from the destruction of the war.
As Jews from around the world move to and visit the country of Israel we must ask is this a city of new beginnings or a desperate attempt to right a wrong that could have been avoided? I would like to think at the end of the day that, although it was made for the group, the indivdual would get past this thought and try to make their own lives, be it as a farmer or something greater down the road.
I thought it was enlightening to learn about the movement to create a Jewish state in Palestine before WWII. It seems as if the Holocaust sped up the process of forming a homeland for the Jews. For the survivors it seemed like the UN wanted to give them the option to leave the continent if they wished to.
I think it’s really interesting to see how the Holocaust affected the Zionist movement and creating the state of Israel. It’s an interesting contrast, that the horrible events of the Holocaust allowed for the Jewish people to get the state that they desired.