In December 1948, a group of prominent American Jews, including Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt, wrote a letter to The New York Times to express their concerns about the emergence of the Freedom Party (Herut), the forerunner of Likud, Netanyahu's party . The party has been described as “very similar in organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and fascist parties”.
Reading it today explains a lot about the fascist and genocidal nature of Israeli politics, especially in Gaza. [N.d.R.: introduzione di Thomas Fazi]
Here is the full text of the letter:
To the editors of the New York Times
One of the most worrying phenomena of our time is the phenomenon of founding in a new state Israelof Freedom Party (Tnuat Haherut), a political party that appears in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social actions closely linked to the Nazi and fascist parties. It was founded outside the Assembly and as a development of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a right-wing, chauvinist terrorist organization in Palestine.
Today's visit Menahem begins [1], chairman of the party, in the United States was made with the intention of creating the impression that America supports the party in the upcoming elections in Israel and to strengthen political ties with conservative Zionist elements in America. Several Americans with national reputations sent their greetings. It is inconceivable that those who speak out against fascism worldwide could have added their names to support the movement he represents if they were not properly informed of Mr. Begin's actions and plans.
Before irreparable damage is done through financial donations, public demonstrations in support of Begin, and the creation of an image of American support for fascist elements in Israel, the American public must be informed of the actions and goals of Mr. Begin and his movement.
Mr. Begin's public confessions do not help to understand his true character. Today he speaks of freedom, democracy and anti-imperialism, whereas until now he openly preached the doctrine of the fascist state. It is in their actions that the terrorist party betrays its true character. Based on her past actions, we can estimate what she will do in the future.
Attack on an Arab village
A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village Deir Yassin. This village, away from the roads and surrounded by lands belonging to the Jews, had not taken part in the war but, on the contrary, had driven out Arab gangs who wanted to use it as a base. On April 9, terrorist gangs attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military target, killing most of its residents (240 men, women and children). They carried some of them as living trophies in a parade through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified by the act and the Jewish Agency apologized to King Abdullah of Transjordan. But instead of being ashamed of their actions, the terrorists bragged about the massacre, made it public and invited all foreign correspondents in the country to see the piles of corpses and the utter devastation in Deir Yassin.
The Deir Yassin incident illustrates the character and actions of the Freedom Party.
Within the Jewish community they preached a mixture of ultranationalism, religious mysticism and racial superiority. Like other fascist parties, they were used to break strikes and destroy free trade unions. In their place they proposed corporate unions based on the Italian fascist model. There has been sporadic anti-British violence in recent years, IZL [2] and Stern inaugurated a reign of terror over the Jewish community of Palestine. Teachers who spoke badly about them were attacked, adults who did not allow their children to meet them were beaten in various ways. Using gangster methods, beatings, smashing shop windows and large-scale thefts, the terrorists intimidated the population and caused heavy casualties. The Freedom Party people had no share in the constructive achievements made in Palestine. They did not claim the land, they did not build settlements, but simply reduced the defensive activities of the Jews. Their immigration efforts were as publicized as they were insignificant and focused primarily on transporting their fascist compatriots.
The discrepancies
The discrepancy between the bold statements that Begin and his party are now making and their track record in previous actions in Palestine does not bear the mark of an ordinary political party. This is undoubtedly the hallmark of a fascist party whose means are terrorism (against Jews, Arabs and English) and false statements and a “leading state” is the goal.
Given the above considerations, it is imperative that the truth about Begin and his movement be made known to this country. Even more tragically, American Zionism's highest commanders have refused to take action against Begin's activities or even to disclose to its members the dangers that Begin's support would pose to Israel. Finally, the signatories are using these resources to publicly state some important facts about Begin and his party and to make every possible effort not to support this latest manifestation of fascism.
(signed)
ISIDORE ABRAMOWITZ, HANNAH ARENDT, ABRAHAM BRICK, RABBI JESSURUN CARDOZO, ALBERT EINSTEIN, HERMAN EISEN, MD, HAYIM FINEMAN, M. GALLEN, MD, HH HARRIS, ZELIG S. HARRIS, SIDNEY HOOK, FRED KARUSH, BRURIA KAUFMAN, IRMA L. LINDHEIM, NACHMAN MAISEL, SEYMOUR MELMAN, MYER D. MENDELSON, MD, HARRY M. OSLINSKY, SAMUEL PITLICK, FRITZ ROHRLICH, LOUIS P. ROCKER, RUTH SAGIS, ITZHAK SANKOWSKY, IJ SHOENBERG, SAMUEL SHUMAN, M. SINGER, IRMA WOLFE, STEFAN WOLFE
New York, December 2, 1948
NOTE
[1] Begin then served as a minister between 1967 and 1970, then Prime Minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983 and was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. In 1973, he left the Freedom Party to form Likud, the party that currently governs Israel under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu.
[2] Irgun Zvai Leumi, a Zionist paramilitary group designated as a terrorist by the United Kingdom and operated during the British Mandate in Palestine from 1931 to 1948.
[N.d.R.] Translation of the letter published on the blog: https://giuliochinappi.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/la-lettera-di-albert-einstein-e-hannah-arendt-sulla-deriva-fascista-di-israele /