After surviving the War of Independence, the nascent state of Israel was in desperate straits. We'd lost a full one percent of our population (a much higher percentage than America lost in World War II) and the country had been devastated by war. And, one of the first things we did was welcome in two groups of immigrants: Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees who had been kicked out of Arab countries (ironically a very similar number of Jews were kicked out of Arab countries as Palestinian Arabs who lost their homes for various reasons during the War of Independence). As you can imagine, the vast majority of these immigrants were unprepared to be productive members of a modern economy due to lack of skills and/or the incredible trauma they'd been through. Israel addressed this problem in several ways. On the expenditure side, we instituted severe rationing of everything from food to furniture. On the income side, we solicited donations from Am Yisrael worldwide, sold government bonds, and, controversially, accepted money from the German government to compensate for the slave labor and material losses of the Holocaust. This proposal led to vigorous debate in the Knesset at the time and huge riots in the streets. David ben Gurion, ever the pragmatist, wanted to accept the money. Menahem Begin, as a matter of principle, demanded that we refuse. Who do you think was right? What should we have done?
שבת שלום! pt. 2
7 years ago
I think David Ben Gurion was right for accepting the money offered by Germany. Israel needed the money in order to get the country on its feet, and if he hadn't accepted the offer, who knows where Israel would be now? Of course it's not an acceptable apology by the Germans for all they had done to the Jewish people, but that doesn't mean we should take what they had to offer, especially in a time of need.
ReplyDeleteDavid ben Gurion accepting money from Germany granted Hitler victory for the Holocaust. The money that had been offered to Israel for reparations and settlement was a sort of apology for the Holocaust. Accepting this money was acceptance of their apology, making the Holocaust less of a tragic event because it was forgivable in the eyes of Israel. I am not sure about where Israel would be right now if the money hadn't been accepting, but I do not agree with Israel pushing aside dignity in the face of their establishment.
ReplyDeleteIt was important that the Knesset voted to accept the German money. In some years, it represented the vast majority of the Israeli government's budget. If Israel voted not to accept these funds, it is very possible that its military would not have been strong enough to fend off attacks from Arab neighbors. Without the German money, Israel might have not lasted until today.
ReplyDeleteWhile accepting compensation from those who had just recently committed a genocide could be interpreted as forgiveness and could be seen as mitigating the weight of the atrocity, it eventually boils down to principles or survival. The Jewish state would have been physically unable to exist without outside monetary facilitation, so Ben Gurion, ignoring the pleas of many, accepted German monetary aid for the greater good of his country. The alternative was letting Holocaust survivors starve, a far worse option than beginning the forgiveness process towards millions of Germans who were not involved in the Nazi Party, but would be perpetually blamed for the crimes of their neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that it was right to accept the money from Germany. By offering the money, Germany was "paying back" for brutally murdering six million Jews. However, I do not believe that any amount of money, no matter how large, could pay back for the Holocaust. Judaism teaches that lives are worth almost more than anything; according to Judaism, you can break almost any Mitzvah to save a life. If Israel were to accept the money, Israel would be going against this Jewish value by putting a quantitative value of a life.
ReplyDeleteI think accepting the money was necessary in order to keep the state of Israel alive at the time. Israel had very little money to defend itself. The German money was not an apology for the holocaust, it was for "property damage and resettlement costs" At the time, nobody was forgiving anyone for the holocaust, it was very recent. Germany did help Israel very much by providing this money and i think it was crucial to accept it.
ReplyDeleteI think that, although we can not completely forgive Germany just yet, we absolutely need to accept this money. All other points aside, we are a new state, and we need money to create our state. If we did not accept this money, (the offer was a ludicrously large amount) who knows how well the state of Israel would have done at the beginning. All moral points aside, we need this money if we want to be able to keep our state in existence.
ReplyDeleteI think that although I would not have wanted to accept the money, I feel it was necessary to help build Eretz Yisrael. In the end, money is still money, no matter where it comes from and if it contributed to Israel's formation, I think taking the money was worth it. Also I think it is important to understand the Nazi regime was no longer in power, and though the money still came from Germany, it didn't come from Hitler or anyone who tried to annihilate the Jews. I understand where the civilians were coming from, but I think the kinesset made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteI think that Germany was giving us this money as an apology. By us accepting it, we were forgiving them. Even though it kind of shows us that we are willing to let go of the holocaust, the money was still necessary. We were a new state and there for needed money to help fund it. This money was very helpful, so despite it being from Germany, it was very needed.
ReplyDeleteI feel that it was necessary for Israel to take the money from Germany. There was never any statement, to my knowledge, saying that it was because of an apology. The German government decided to gift Israel because they saw that there were in need of money to help defend against the Arabs neighbors trying to kill off all the Jews.
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is not right to accept money from Germany. It does not necessarily mean that they are trying to apologize by paying us , but they would never willingly` admit that. You cannot forgive them at that time for murdering 6 million people
ReplyDeleteI think that the money that was given to Israel from Germany was somewhat pity money. Israel did need the money, yes. Accepting the money from Germany did improve and help Israel drastically.
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