On Sharett
Moshe Sharett (Shertok), Ukrainian born, was the director of the Jewish Agency's Political Department from 1933 until May 1948 (when the State of Israel was founded),
His policies with Israel's neighbors were characterized with vision and pragmatism, which in a way now makes most of the current Israeli "peace camp" looks like hawks.
Although Sharett was an ARDENT Zionist who was committed to the "transfer solution" to the "Arab question," (especially by being the main Israeli Cabinet patron of the "Transfer Committee"), he attempted to have policies based on engagement rather than belligerence and humiliation of Israel's Arab neighbors.
palestineremembered.com
For the next 10 years the possibility of transferring the Arab population would not be 'practical'. As for the long-term future: I am prepared to see in this a vision, not a mystical way but in a realistic way, of a population exchange on a much more important scale and including larger territories. As for now, we must not forget who would have to exchange the land? those villages which live more than others on irrigation, on orange and fruit plantations, in houses built near water wells and pumping stations, on livestock and property and easy access to markets. Where would they go? What would they receive in return? ... This would be such an uprooting, such a shock, the likes of which had never occurred and could drown the whole thing in rivers of blood. At this stage let us not entertain ourselves with the analogy of population transfer between Turkey and Greece; there were different conditions there. |
