Einstein on Israel and Zionism

As Aeschylus is reported to have said, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” This slaughter of truth often comes first in the form of the erasure of nuance. Grey areas are smoothed out and polished to convey a simplicity that reflects the desired, state-sanctioned message. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent, more than a year-long bombardment of Gaza and now Lebanon, as well as strikes in Syria and Iran, carried out by Israel, nuance has been steadily eroded from much of the discourse around Zionism.

Einstein on Israel and Zionism proves to be an important counteragent to the politically-motivated, overly-simplistic and, often, racially-motivated messaging we hear from prominent figures in Western media. The book, which was originally released in 2009, based on letters written by the father of relativity on the subject of Zionism, obviously does not cover this most recent escalation. It does, however, provide much needed context about the birth of the Zionist movement and the diversity within it, as well as the period of British control over Palestine, the post-war era and the creation of Isreal.

Albert Einstein has often been represented as a Zionist and champion of Israel, which was the impetus for Einstein biographer Fred Jerome to write this book. Einstein’s views on Zionism were far more nuanced. Exploring the history and ideologies behind the founding of the Jewish state through the eyes of one of the 20^th century’s most lauded minds brings nuance, context, history and humanity into the discussion.

Exploring the history and ideologies behind the founding of the Jewish state through the eyes of one of the 20^th century’s most lauded minds brings nuance, context, history and humanity into the discussion.

Organized in chronological order, and with extensive context and notes provided by Jerome, the book begins with Einstein witnessing the rise of antisemitism in Germany. Having lived in Switzerland, Einstein had grown used to living in a more pluralistic society, where different nations co-existed peacefully within one state. He returned to Germany at a time when there was an influx of eastern European Jews forced out of their homes through various pogroms, when Germans were looking for someone to blame for the loss of the First World War. Einstein witnessed how Western Jews did not embrace Eastern Jews as their own, and gentile Germans didn’t make distinctions between the two Jewish populations, scapegoating them all. Witnessing this rise of antisemitism in his own country, aided by antisemitic movements in other nations, led Einstein to the conclusion that there was a defect in human nature that caused the majority of a population to target a minority group in times of strife, and that the Jewish people needed to regard themselves as a nation with a unifying goal.

Although Einstein never subscribed to Theodor Herzl’s racist and colonial view of Zionism, he believed that the overall idea of establishing a centre of Jewish culture and spirituality was a noble goal that would unite Jewish people the world over. Einstein, like other supporters of a Jewish cultural centre of the era, considered Palestine, along with parts of China, Africa and South America as potential locations for it. As it became clear with the Balfour Declaration that Palestine would be the location where this Jewish cultural hub would be established, Einstein focused his energies on garnering support for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Einstein on Israel and Zionism allows readers to see step-by-step how the political machinations of Britain poisoned chances to build a peaceful binational state, which had been Einstein’s dream. The physicist, although not a political scientist, had strong socialist leanings and envisioned a unified Jewish-Arab state built around a robust, unionized working class. Einstein opposed a Jewish state. He predicted, with a prognosis that has come to pass, that it would lead to Arabs being deprived of human rights and lead to years of violence.

To foster a connection to the Arab community already established in Palestine and the time of the settlement of European Jews, Einstein proposed teaching all Jewish children Arabic. He recommended relying less on the British and, instead, forging strong, working relationships with the Arab people. Not only did he espouse these ideas in much of his correspondence, he criticized sharply those who hoped to infuse a Jewish nationalism into the Zionist endeavor. Einstein claimed to be a cultural Zionist, not a political Zionist. In a famous letter he co-signed with other Jewish intellectuals to the New York Times, he compared political Zionists to “fascists” and “Nazis.” As the book details, some extreme political Zionists like the Stern Gang, including the man who would become Israel’s seventh prime minister, tried to make a deal with the Nazis during the Second World War to overthrow the British and take all of Palestine for the Jews.

Jerome points out that Einstein’s view of Judaism was through a lens of humanitarian principles, not one of being the “chosen people.” Through that lens, we can see Einstein’s anguish at the rising antisemitism in Europe, his hopes rise with the dream of a Jewish cultural centre, and his disillusionment as it became clear that the intolerant nationalistic impulses that endangered Jews in Europe were now entrenched in the creation of Israel.

we can see Einstein’s anguish at the rising antisemitism in Europe, his hopes rise with the dream of a Jewish cultural centre, and his disillusionment as it became clear that the intolerant nationalistic impulses that endangered Jews in Europe were now entrenched in the creation of Israel.

The settlement of Jews in Palestine is covered in the book in great detail, showing the many forces at play in shaping the eventual formation of Israel. Jerome notes that the fair treatment of Palestinians by the British, and later by settlers, could have potentially eased tensions and facilitated peaceful cooperation. We, in the West, rarely put ourselves in the shoes of the Palestinians of the time: suddenly under the control of the British and being asked to accept greater and greater numbers of European settlements on lands they had lived on for ages. Einstein, on the other hand, was quick to see the circumstances, and worked with Palestinian intellectuals to try to build a rapport, and from that a mutually-beneficial arrangement.

But, as we know, the Arab population rebelled against the British. Jerome explains that England, having made a non-aggression deal with Hitler, sent troops to crush the Arab uprising rather than seeking to stop the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Between Einstein and Jerome’s writings, the grey areas are on full display. We see the British fostering inequality between Jews and Arabs, members of both the Arab and Jewish leadership trying to forge deals with the Nazis, Jewish acts of terror when the British tried to limit Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine and the violence of the Nakba.

But we are also given a glimpse of the unprecedented cooperation between Jewish and Arab workers during World War Two, united against fascism. We get a sense of what could have been in a land where Arabs and Jews coexisted peacefully before the colonial machinations of the British and the nationalistic aspirations of political Zionists made it clear that Palestinians would not receive fair treatment in the land that was their own.

We get a sense of what could have been in a land where Arabs and Jews coexisted peacefully before the colonial machinations of the British and the nationalistic aspirations of political Zionists made it clear that Palestinians would not receive fair treatment in the land that was their own.

Fred Jerome, who demonstrates nothing but respect for Einstein, does not, however, shy away from addressing what could be seen as the genius’s naivete. Perhaps Einstein’s utopian view of a Jewish cultural centre built on the most humanist interpretation of Judaism was only ever a pipe dream. But Einstein is a man made famous because he saw something the rest of his peers could not. Through his theories, he changed the world. Perhaps his vision for how two nations can build a state together, and both prosper within it, could also change the world.

Einstein’s letters and Fred Jerome’s notes and research provide much-needed context to today’s headlines.

This new, enriched edition contains bonus material, including Fred Jerome’s article “The Killing of UN Mediator Count Bernadotte.” It details the assassination of the Swedish count who had made a name for himself rescuing Jews from concentration camps. After the war, as violence was breaking out between Zionists and Arabs in Palestine, Count Bernadotte was sent to negotiate a lasting peace. His proposals, such as a two-state solution, with Jerusalem being an international city under UN control, made him a dangerous figure to those who would not accept anything aside from total control of Palestine. The aforementioned Stern Gang ambushed Count Bernadotte, killing him before realizing that the Israeli government had already rejected his proposal for a Palestinian state. It is a period of history that contradicts much of the narrative espoused by those who wish to paint Palestinians as bad actors. Einstein on Israel and Zionism gives a compelling look at a period of time that has shaped much of the 20^th and 21^st centuries through the eyes of one of history’s most brilliant figures. Einstein’s letters and Fred Jerome’s notes and research provide much-needed context to today’s headlines. If nothing else, the book gives readers an inside view of Albert Einstein witnessing the flaws of human nature as they turned what was a dream for some into a nightmare for many.

Fred Jerome (1939-2020) was a journalist, science writer, activist, and author of several books including The Einstein File, The FBI’s Secret War on the World’s Most Famous Scientist (Baraka Books, 2018) and Einstein on Race and Racism. His investigative reports or op-ed pieces appeared in dozens of publications including Newsweek, The New York Times and The Link. As a reporter in the South during the early 1960s, he covered the explosive civil rights movement. He also taught at Columbia Journalism School, NYU and numerous other New York-area Universities.

Publisher: Baraka Books (September 1, 2024)
Paperback 6″ x 9″ | 320 pages
ISBN: 9781771863667

Jeff Dupuis

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Jeff Dupuis is a writer and editor living in Toronto. He is the author of The Creature X Mystery novels and numerous short stories, which have been published in The Ex-Puritan and The Temz Review among others. Jeff is the editor, alongside A.G. Pasquella, of the anthology Devouring Tomorrow: Fiction from the Future of Food, which will be published in 2025 by Dundurn Press.