Haim Arlosoroff (February 23, 1899 – June 16, 1933; also known as Chaim Arlozorov; he, חיים ארלוזורוב) was a
Socialist Zionist
Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...
leader of the
Yishuv
Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...
during the
British Mandate for Palestine, prior to the establishment of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and head of the Political Department of the
Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
. In 1933, Arlosoroff was assassinated while walking on the beach in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
.
Biography
Haim Arlosoroff was born into a Jewish family in
Romny,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
(then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
) on February 23, 1899. In Russia, he was known as Vitaly, the Russian equivalent of Haim. When living in Germany, he was known as Viktor. Arlosoroff's paternal grandfather was Rabbi Eliezer Arlosoroff of Romny, an author of religious commentaries on the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
. At the age of six, Arlosoroff encountered
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
for the first time. In 1905, the Arlosoroff family home in Romny was attacked during a violent
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
. The family fled across the German border to
East Prussia. Seven years later the family settled in
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
, Germany (now the Russian city of Kaliningrad). Arlosoroff thus became fluent in German, in addition to studying
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
with a tutor. When
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began in 1914, the family did not have German citizenship and were threatened with deportation. The family eventually obtained permission to move to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. When his father, Saul, returned to Russia on business, he was barred from returning and died there of cholera. Arlosoroff studied economics at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
and obtained a doctorate in that subject. During his studies, he wrote articles on Zionist affairs. In Germany, he became a key leader of ''
Hapoel Hatzair
Hapoel Hatzair ( he, הפועל הצעיר, "The Young Worker") was a Zionist group active in Palestine from 1905 until 1930. It was founded by A.D. Gordon, Yosef Aharonovich, Yosef Sprinzak and followed a non-Marxist, Zionist, socialist agenda ...
'' (also Ha-Po'el ha-Tza'ir, Hebrew for "The Young Worker"), a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
political party which attracted many of the intellectuals of the time. As a result of his party affiliation, Arlosoroff was appointed editor of "Die Arbeit" (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
for "The Labour"), a journal in which his writings were first published.
Though Arlosoroff was not observant, both his precociousness and his strong feelings as a Jew can be seen in a letter he wrote at age 17 to his German literature teacher: "I am a Jew, and I feel strong and proud of my Jewishness. I feel it in my bones that I am different from a German, and it would never occur to me to deny this…. My soul yearns for the unique, ancient Hebrew culture. But I also like German culture, and perhaps I am also afraid to admit how great my love for it is…Yet, Goethe and Schiller never really touched my heart closely." In 1919, Arlosoroff published the treatise "Jewish People's Socialism", his first major written contribution relating to a
nationalistic
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...
hope for the Jewish people in
Eretz Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
. In his treatise, Arlosoroff distanced himself from traditional
Marxist beliefs by advocating a new brand of socialism that embraced a national consciousness. Arlosoroff's contention was that the Jewish people would only be able to preserve and revive their unique cultural identities within a
Jewish national homeland. Arlosoroff further professed, that through the establishment of "Jewish People's Socialism", Jews would be guaranteed public land ownership upon their return to Eretz Israel. In accord with the visions of other socialist Zionists of his time, Arlosoroff believed that ancient Biblical agricultural traditions, such as the "
Sabbath Year" and "
Year of Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
", could be restored in modern practice alongside institutional parameters established for the new Jewish nation. Arlosoroff's treatise accurately predicted a powerful
resurgence of the Hebrew language would accompany the return of Jewish people to Eretz Israel.
Arlosoroff first visited Palestine in the spring of 1921. Shortly after his arrival, the
Jaffa riots broke out. In the midst of
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
rioting, Arlosoroff stood in defense of
Neve Shalom
Neve Shalom ( he, נְוֵה שָׁלוֹם, ''lit.'' Oasis of Peace), also known as Wāħat as-Salām ( ar, واحة السلام) is a cooperative village in Israel, jointly founded by Israeli Jews and Arabs in an attempt to show that the two p ...
, a Jewish settlement adjacent to Tel Aviv and
Jaffa. These events helped draw Arlosoroff's focus to the need for better relations between Jews and Arabs. Following the riots, Arlosoroff called upon the Zionist establishment to no longer deny the reality of an Arab national movement existing in Eretz Israel. However, Arlosoroff's plea was not widely accepted, and he received criticism from within the ranks of his own party, Hapoel Hatzair. Arlosoroff would ultimately come to the position that strength-based compromise with neighboring Arabs would not weaken or undermine efforts to establish a Jewish national homeland.
In the 1923
Zionist Congress
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...
, Arlosoroff was elected to the
Zionist Action Committee. He was only 24 years old at the time. Turning down a university position, he left Germany for the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
in 1924. In 1926 he was chosen to represent the
yishuv
Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...
at the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
.
Arlosoroff's hope for peaceful cooperation and compromise with Arabs would be severely tested. In 1929, the consciously aggressive
Betar Youth Movement, organized under
Ze'ev Jabotinsky
Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...
's
Union of Revisionist Zionists, took part in a coalition to assertively enforce and enlarge a Jewish presence in the proximity of the
Western Wall
The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ...
. The activities of Betar and their associates inflamed an explosive reaction from the Arab community, in whose perception these activities had dishonoured the Muslim holy site on the adjacent
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
. The violent
Western Wall Uprisings of 1929 ensued, which resulted in the loss of many lives, including civilians. Instead of inciting further Arab tensions, Arlosoroff strongly criticized the Revisionists for insensitively provoking the animosity.
Political career
In 1930, Arlosoroff was influential in unifying the two major Zionist socialist political parties, the
Poale Zion
Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...
and the Hapoel Hatzair. This merger brought the establishment of the
Mapai
Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...
Labour Party. Through the Mapai's political muscle, Arlosoroff received election as a member of the Zionist Executive at the 1931
Zionist Congress
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...
. In addition, he was named Political Director of the
Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
for Palestine, a prominent position he filled until his 1933 assassination.
As the Jewish Agency's Political Director, Arlosoroff first believed that the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
would help settling Jews in Palestine, so he worked with the
British mandatory government which was in charge of running
that territory. Prior to his tenure as Political Director, Arlosoroff had already familiarized himself with the British system of rule, having written an essay titled "The British Administration and the Jewish National Home". During his years in office, Arlosoroff would develop close working relationships with Britain's
High Commissioner Arthur Wauchope and British
Colonial Secretary Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister.
Arlosoroff was a close friend of the Jewish scientist and statesman,
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israe ...
. Dr. Weizmann was considered to be among the most politically moderate of Arlosoroff's Mapai Zionist contemporaries.
In the months leading up to his assassination, Arlosoroff's fervor to help establish a Jewish national homeland intensified. At a Mapai Labour Council meeting occurring in January 1933, Arlosoroff strongly clashed with
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
and other prominent Mapai leaders regarding whether or not the Zionists should work within the British government's infrastructure to help bring about Jewish statehood. Arlosoroff warned his colleagues that if the Zionist movement maintained an isolationist policy with the British ruling authorities, Arab political influence would increase within the British Administration and cause the rights of Jewish people in Eretz Israel to suffer.
![Chaim Arlosoroff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Chaim_Arlosoroff.jpg)
On April 8, 1933, Arlosoroff organized a historic event at the
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel ( he, מלון המלך דוד, Malon ha-Melekh David; ar, فندق الملك داود) is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally qua ...
in Jerusalem on the Jewish Agency's behalf. The luncheon, attended by Weizmann and prominent Arab leaders of Transjordan, would be the first time Jewish Zionists and key Arabs gathered together to help promote cooperative efforts between the two groups. Arlosoroff hoped that by building an accord with the Arab
sheiks of Transjordan, political relations with Arab leaders of Mandatory Palestine might be enhanced. However, not everyone was pleased with Arlosoroff's vision for Jewish/Arab collaboration, nor the possibility of a bi-nationalistic future in Eretz Israel. After the luncheon, Arab radicals openly chastised the moderate Arabs who had attended the meeting. Certain Arab leaders in Mandatory Palestine distanced themselves completely from the Transjordanian Arab delegation. Particular anger was directed at Transjordan's
Emir Abdullah
AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir ...
, the ruler over large territories in Transjordan, who had taken a leading role in the conciliation efforts. Jewish opposition to the King David Hotel meeting also became apparent as the major party of
religious Zionism
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religiou ...
,
Mizrachi, demanded that Arlosoroff should resign from his position at the Jewish Agency. Some radicals in the Revisionist movement went even further and questioned Arlosoroff's right to be alive.
As a result of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's rise to power in Germany, Arlosoroff directed his focus to the plight of
German Jews
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
. The Germany Arlosoroff loved growing up changed quickly and drastically upon Hitler's rise to power. In April 1933, the new regime implemented the first of many anti-Jewish laws by terminating all Jewish employees from German government positions. Also at that time, Nazi officials decreed Jewish people would not be permitted to leave the country without a specially issued exit visa. Jewish groups responded worldwide to Hitler's regime through protests and
boycotts of German products.
Immediately following an organized
Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses
The Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses () in Germany began on April 1, 1933, and was claimed to be a defensive reaction to the anti-Nazi boycott, which had been initiated in March 1933. It was largely unsuccessful, as the German population conti ...
in Germany on April 1, 1933, Arlosoroff contacted High Commissioner Arthur Wauchope requesting Britain's intervention in the crisis. Arlosoroff asked Wauchope to consider that
supplementary immigration visas for Mandatory Palestine be granted to Jewish people seeking refuge from Hitler's
Reich
''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...
.
Though Hitler hated Jewish people and wanted them expelled from Germany, in 1933 the Nazis were not willing to let a large number of Jewish refugees flee to the surrounding nations. This was because Reich officials were concerned that fleeing Jewish refugees would lend large numbers to a growing international movement for the economic boycott of Nazi Germany. Adding to Hitler's worries, German financial advisers warned the Nazi government that a mass exodus of Jewish laborers from the German workforce would badly damage Germany's economic stability. The Nazis needed a convenient solution to rid themselves of Jews without a political or economic backlash.
In 1933, Arlosoroff and German Reich officials viewed the British Mandate of Palestine as a land of opportunity for very different reasons. In the eyes of the Nazi leadership, the remote British-controlled territory appeared to be a "dumping-ground" suitable to isolate thousands of anti-Hitler Jewish refugees from the world's political arena. In addition, a financial agreement with Zionist leaders for the transfer of the refugees would help bolster a German economy adversely affected by anti-Nazi boycotts. For Arlosoroff and other Zionists, however, the potential mass transfer of Germany's Jews along with their assets to Eretz Israel presented a historic opportunity to help guarantee the future establishment of a Jewish nation in Mandatory Palestine.
Arlosoroff came to feel that the British could not be trusted and that the Jews must risk angering them in order to rebuild their own homeland and save the Jews of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
from the nationalist and authoritarian regimes under which they lived, especially in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
In his efforts to help Jews escape the tyranny of Hitler, Arlosoroff would face staunch opposition from the Revisionist ranks within his own Zionist movement. Though Mapai Labour leaders attempted to prepare the way for an agreement with Germany by mitigating anti-Nazi sentiment within Zionist circles, prominent Revisionist leader
Ze'ev Jabotinsky
Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...
steadfastly opposed them. In a radio broadcast on April 28, 1933, Jabotinsky strongly condemned any possible pact between Zionism and Hitler. Jabotinsky upheld in his radio address the Revisionist platform for an international economic boycott on German exports, suggesting in addition that the British Mandate of Palestine should assume the lead in the boycott efforts.
Ha'avara agreement
At this point, Haim Arlosoroff visited Nazi Germany to negotiate the controversial
Ha'avara Agreement. It allowed for the emigration of Jews to Palestine along with most of their property. The Germans were happy to get rid of Jews but unwilling to allow them to take their property with them. Via the agreement, the Jews had to put their money into a special bank account. This money was then used to purchase German goods for export to Palestine (and other countries). The proceeds of the sale of these goods were given to the Jews on their arrival in Palestine. For the Nazis, this helped them get rid of Jews but overcame any attempts at a boycott of German exports (especially from a moral point of view since it was the Jews themselves importing the goods). For the Zionist settlement, the influx of capital gave a much-needed economic boom in the midst of
worldwide depression.
Approximately a year after Arlosoroff and German officials formalized the Ha'avara Agreement, a substantial economic reaction began to take place in Eretz Israel. As a result, many new Jewish immigrants came to dwell in the Holy Land. Prior to the Ha'avara Agreement, only several thousand Jewish workers had been immigrating to the British Mandate of Palestine on a yearly basis. After the agreement was signed, however, over 50,000 new Jewish workers made the British Mandate of Palestine their home within two years. The Ha'avara Agreement's initial impact on Jewish immigration would be widespread, as an approximate 20% of the first 50,000 new Jewish immigrants in Eretz Israel came from Germany. By 1936, just three years after the Ha'avara Agreement became effective, the population of Jewish people within the British Mandate of Palestine had doubled in size.
Over a period of time, some of Hitler's elite Nazi entourage, including
Adolf Eichmann, began to deeply regret Germany's participation in the Ha'avara Agreement.
Ultimately, over 60,000 German Jews escaped persecution by the Nazis directly or indirectly through the Ha'avara Agreement. In addition, the Ha'avara Agreement transferred an approximate $100 million to the British Mandate of Palestine, which helped establish an industrial infrastructure for the soon to be Jewish nation. Ha'avara Agreement funds were also used for the purchase of land and the development of many new Jewish settlements that now help define the current boundaries of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Assassination
![PikiWiki Israel 11449 chaim arlosoroff memorial in tel aviv](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/PikiWiki_Israel_11449_chaim_arlosoroff_memorial_in_tel_aviv.jpg)
On 16 June 1933, just two days after his return from negotiations in Germany, Haim Arlosoroff was murdered. He was killed while walking with his wife, Sima, on a beach in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
. Arlosoroff's funeral was the largest in the history of Mandatory Palestine, with an estimated assemblage of 70,000 to 100,000 mourners. The death of Arlosoroff greatly aggravated political relations within the Zionist movement.
Abba Ahimeir
Abba Ahimeir ( he, אב"א אחימאיר, russian: Аба Шойл Гайсинович; 2 November 1897 – 6 June 1962) was a Russian-born Jewish journalist, historian, and political activist. One of the ideologues of Revisionist Zionism, ...
, the head of an activist group with
fascist tendencies, the
Brit HaBirionim, was charged by the
Palestine Police Force
The Palestine Police Force was a British colonial police service established in Mandatory Palestine on 1 July 1920,Sinclair, 2006. when High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from Gene ...
with plotting the assassination. Ahimeir was also a leader of the nationalist Zionist Revisionist faction whose publication, "
Hazit HaAm
''Hazit HaAm'' ( he, חזית העם, lit. ''Front of the People'') was a weekly newspaper associated with Revisionist Zionism published in Palestine between January 1932 and June 1934.
The paper was established in 1931 by Yehoshua Lichter. It cl ...
" continuously attacked the Labor movement and Zionist leaders, including Arlosoroff, calling him names and stating that the Jewish people "will know how to react to such villains". Two rank-and-file Revisionists,
Abraham Stavsky
Abraham Stavsky ( he, אברהם סטבסקי; January 5, 1906 – June 22, 1948) was an activist member of Betar, the youth movement of a Revisionist Zionist group founded by Vladimir Jabotinsky.
On June 18, 1933, Stavsky was arrested by th ...
and Ze'evi Rosenblatt, were arrested as the actual murderers and were identified by Arlosoroff's widow. All three vehemently denied the accusation.
The district court acquitted Ahimeir and Rosenblatt but convicted Stavsky, who, however, was eventually acquitted by the Supreme Court for lack of corroborating evidence, as the law then required. The defense accused the police of manipulating the widow's testimony and other evidence for political reasons, and expounded the theory that the murder was connected to an intended sexual attack on Sima Arlosoroff by two young Arabs. Stavsky later rose within
Irgun
Irgun • Etzel
, image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px
, caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
ranks and was responsible for the procurement of the Irgun arms vessel known as the "
Altalena
The ''Altalena'' Affair was a violent confrontation that took place in June 1948 by the newly created Israel Defense Forces against the Irgun (also known as IZL), one of the Jewish paramilitary groups that were in the process of merging to form ...
." He was killed in the attack on the ship by the newly established
Israel Defense Forces on the Beach of Tel Aviv.
In addition to theories that people connected to the revisionist movement were the perpetrators of the murder, or that it was an intended sexual attack by two Arabs, there are theories connecting it to the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
regimes. The Soviet theory was promoted by Shmuel Dothan in 1991 to counter what the Russians considered as a global military plot against them. The Nazi theory involves
Joseph Goebbels, who supposedly sent two agents, Theo Korth and Heinz Geronda, to kill Arlosoroff. During her school days,
Magda Ritschel, who later became Joseph Goebbels' wife, met and became close friends with Lisa Arlosoroff, Haim's sister.
Magda met Haim at university; they became lovers, and she became involved with him in Zionist affairs. According to Lisa's diary, Magda fervently participated in the debates of the group "Tikwath Zion" on the future of Palestine and learned Hebrew. She wore a necklace with the
Star of David that he gave her as a love token, and they even planned to emigrate to Palestine together.
However, the relationship ended with Haim's departure, as Magda did not follow. In 1921, Magda married Günther Quandt, a rich German industrialist twice her age. In 1929, Günther discovered that Magda was having an affair, so he separated from her. He went on to divorce Magda that same year but was generous with the divorce settlement. Magda was having the affair with her old Jewish boyfriend Viktor (Haim) Arlosoroff, a 30-year-old law student.
In 1931, she began to date
Joseph Goebbels. After he began going out with Magda, he learned of her Jewish stepfather, Richard Friedländer. For days at a time, she did not visit him. After a while, she stopped answering the phone or keeping dates. Eventually, Joseph found out he had a rival: Haim Arlosoroff, who was equally enraged to learn Magda was two-timing him with the Nazi
gauleiter
A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...
of Berlin. Haim was so enraged, in fact, that during one meeting with Magda, he pulled out a
revolver, and in a jealous, dramatic scene, fired at her, deliberately missing. The bullet buried itself in the wall near Magda, and she permanently broke off her relationship with Haim, despite his pleas and apologies. Magda wed Joseph on 19 December 1931, with
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
as his best man. When Haim visited Berlin in 1933, he discovered his old flame arm-in-arm with Joseph. He even came across an opposition newspaper with the headline "Nazi Chief weds Jewess".
Once the shock had subsided, Haim, so the theory went, began to view Magda as his conduit to Joseph to secure the Ha'avarah agreement. Their old relationship proved to be an embarrassment to the Goebbels, who were, at that point, very much part of the Nazi leadership. Joseph allegedly took notice of his wife's former Jewish boyfriend, which is why he was "terminated". Magda's former Jewish stepfather was later arrested on Joseph's orders on 15 June 1938 and sent to
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...
, where he died on 18 February 1939.
For years, right-wing figures claimed to have been wrongfully accused by
Mapai
Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...
of responsibility for Arlosoroff's assassination. Some 50 years after the murder, following the publication of a book on the assassination by
Shabtai Teveth
Shabtai Teveth (1925 – 1 November 2014) was an Israeli historian and author.
Teveth was born in 1925 and grew up in the worker' quarters at the Migdal Tzedek quarry, where his father worked, near Petah Tikva. He began working as a journalist ...
in 1982, the Israeli government, now led by
Menachem Begin, established a formal investigative committee. As the first Israeli Prime Minister elected from the Revisionist movement, Begin had taken offense at a suggestion in Teveth's book that a Revisionist acquitted in court for Arlosoroff's murder may have actually been responsible after all.
The Judicial Commission of Enquiry was led by the former
High court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...
Judge David Bachor. Its purpose was to decide whether Rosenblatt and Stavsky were responsible for assassinating Arlosoroff, or not. The committee decided unanimously that Rosenblatt and Stavsky had nothing to do with the murder. The committee was inconclusive about the identity of the real murderers, or whether or not the murder was politically motivated.
Legacy and commemoration
Arlosoroff is buried at the
Trumpeldor Cemetery in Tel Aviv. Arlosoroff's memory is honored today by the many streets named after him throughout the towns of Israel and in the names of several places in Israel:
Safed,
Kiryat Haim
Kiryat Haim ( he, קריית חיים , ar, كريات حاييم) is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. It is considered part of the Krayot cluster in the northern part of metropolitan Haifa. In 2008, Kiryat Haim had a population of just un ...
, a large neighborhood of Haifa,
Giv'at Haim, a
kibutz and
Kfar Haim
Kfar Haim ( he, כְּפַר חַיִּים, ''lit.'' Haim Village) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain near Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of .
Histor ...
, a
moshav.
An 8-foot tall bronze monument dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Chaim Arlosoroff has been erected at the Tel Aviv shoreline promenade where he was fatally wounded.
The name of Haim Arlosoroff was also used for a ship carrying
Jewish refugees to Palestine, the former
USCGC ''Unalga'' (WPG-53). On 27 February 1947, the ''Haim Arlosoroff'' (1,378 passengers from Sweden and Italy) was intercepted by Royal Navy destroyer
HMS ''Chieftain'', and the passengers put up fierce resistance. The ship ran aground at
Bat Galim south of
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, just opposite a British Army camp. The crew and passengers were arrested and deported to Cyprus.
[''Unalga'' 1912, Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office]
See also
*
List of unsolved deaths
This list of unsolved deaths includes well-known cases where:
* The cause of death could not be officially determined.
* The person's identity could not be established after they were found dead.
* The cause is known, but the manner of death (homi ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
* The personal papers of Haim Arlosoroff are kept at th
Central Zionist Archivesin Jerusalem
* 1933 Video Footage of (Hebrew with English subtitles)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arlosoroff, Haim
1899 births
Assassinated Jews
1933 deaths
Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery
Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish National Council members
Jewish socialists
Male murder victims
Mapai politicians
Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine)
People from Romny
Ukrainian Jews