Ze'ev Jabotinsky
I never saw him with my own eyes. I never heard his great speeches. Ze'ev Jabotinsky captivated me through his written words. And what words! A crystal clear style devoid of pretense; razor-sharp logic. I was a boy of 14 and I was enchanted by his intellectual honesty, by his total lack of hypocrisy. In the 1920s, he stated that there is an Arab Palestinian people, and scoffed at the Zionist leaders who denied this and tried to bribe the Arabs. [He was a firm nationalist and a true liberal, as those of the Italian liberation fighters whom he admired]. Under his influence I joined the Irgun. I read his weekly essay every Friday, until he died. When it didn't appear, I felt an almost physical lack.
After his death in 1940, I started to become skeptical of his views. I disavowed [his opposition to the Histadrut and the kibbutzim, his linking up to reactionary elements,] his consent to the murder of innocent Arabs in "reprisal" operations, his surrender to the religious - even though he was zealous about the separation of religion and state. I left the Irgun then, too. But after all these years, and after the thousands of articles that I've written, I still have great admiration for his style as a model of clear writing.
The original Hebrew text is here., if you wish to check.
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1 comment:
Uri Avnery is a hypocrite, like Shula Aloni. Both make a great about their supposed attachment to the values of the Zionism founders, while both have betrayed all human values and serve as stooges for the international terrorism. Despicable!
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