Michael Mandelbaum, author of The Titans of the Twentieth Century: How They Made History and the History They Made, spoke to a September 9 Middle East Forum Podcast (video). Mandelbaum discussed David Ben-Gurion, one of eight influential leaders of the twentieth century. The following summarizes his comments:
David Ben-Gurion was one of the major political figures during the first half of the twentieth century who “made an enormous impact on history.” Historic events such as the Great Depression and decolonization “acted as a kind of bulldozer” on existing “political and economic structures.” Dramatic changes set the stage for “radically different” structures to emerge to replace them. Ben-Gurion’s “status as a titan and his position as the leader of the Jewish community in Palestine and later of independent Israel stems from his gift for anticipating the future. Earlier than almost anyone else in the Jewish community, he saw that as a result of the war, Britain would have to leave Palestine. That, he understood, would present the opportunity for proclaiming the long-sought Jewish state.”
Ben-Gurion opened the doors to Israel for the Jews fleeing persecution from the Arab countries in 1948 “without question.”
Ben-Gurion was the father of the Jewish army and “founding father of his country,” the Jewish state. He is credited with building a Jewish army to defend the nascent state — today’s Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His sinking of the Irgun ship Altalena to preserve his authority over a unified Israeli army was controversial. However, it was a result of his fierce belief in one Jewish fighting force.
Ben-Gurion “was also the Commander-in-Chief during Israel’s war of Independence in 1948, and he made the decisions that enabled Israel to survive and prevail, and he did this with virtually no military experience of his own.”
Ben-Gurion was persuaded to grant dispensation to ultra-Orthodox young men who devoted their time to study. Part of his decision was a nostalgia to preserve “that fragment of Jewish life,” but he did so under the assumption that this form of observance would “die out.” Today, the opposite is true, with very high birth-rates the norm in the ultra-Orthodox sector of Israeli society.
He understood that the State of Israel would require a large population existing in the middle of hostile neighbors, and Israel provided “a refuge for every Jew anywhere.” The leadership in the new state was primarily comprised of Jews from Eastern Europe. However, Ben-Gurion opened the doors to Israel for the Jews fleeing persecution from the Arab countries in 1948 “without question.” Welcoming them with “open arms,” he went further and “diverted some funds from the military in order to provide for their absorption.”
Politically, Ben-Gurion “had more responsibility than anyone else for making Israel a democracy.” As a socialist who believed in democratic socialism, his political party, Mapai, or the Israeli Labor Party, “dominated Israeli politics for the three decades of Israel’s existence.” The kibbutz was also “a central institution in Israeli political, social, and economic life.” Mapai has been replaced by other political parties, and the kibbutz is no longer an important structure in Israeli society.
By the 1930s, Ben-Gurion agreed with Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall concept, without publicly endorsing it.
Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a political rival of Ben-Gurion’s, believed in free markets. Militarily, he ascribed to the concept of the “Iron Wall,” where Jews became powerful enough to resist any Arab challenges.
In 1904, Ben-Gurion, along with other socialists, believed that Jews and Arabs could co-exist. He held that Jews reclaiming their ancestral homeland would bring economic growth and benefits to both, leading to a peaceful relationship. In the 1920s, Ben-Gurion was dispelled of this notion after meeting with Palestinian-Arab leaders who “made it clear to him that they would never accept a Jewish state.” By the 1930s, Ben-Gurion agreed with Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall concept, without publicly endorsing it.
Ben-Gurion was driven by his goal to establish a Jewish state that could thrive despite ongoing threats. “Without David Ben-Gurion’s efforts, there would’ve been no Israel as we know it.” As an admirer of American historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Ben-Gurion’s career in many ways resembles that of George Washington. Both led their people “in victorious wars of independence and presided over the establishment of a new state in the wake of that war. Both set their new countries, each of them, as it happens, built by immigrants, on a course of political liberty and economic success. Washington is known as the father of his country. Ben-Gurion deserves the same title for his.”
“To appreciate David Ben-Gurion’s impact … a visitor to Israel … would do well to follow the exhortation contained in the Latin inscription for Sir Christopher Wren, perhaps England’s greatest architect, located in his most prominent creation, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. That reads, ‘Si Monumentum Requiris Circumspice.’ If you seek his monument, look around you.”
