The man who dropped out of Harvard Law to help Holocaust refugees

by Leah Rosenberg
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The Jewish State did not just come to be. It was founded by an enormous amount of ingenuity and self-sacrifice by hundreds of thousands of Jews who returned to build their homeland. Most of these Jews came from the areas of Poland and Russia. But many also came from Germany and Arab Lands, such as Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, and Algeria. The least known group that helped build up the State of Israel may be the Jews of the United States and other English speaking countries.

What sets apart the American volunteers who helped build up the State of Israel from so many others is that they had the good life in the United States and they literally risked their lives to do something to help the remaining Jewish refugees who were running for their lives from Europe and trying to survive and rebuild in the Land of Israel.

The other thing that sets these volunteers apart is that many of them had some military experience from World War II or post World War II when there was a draft in the United States. So, some of them had skills that would prove very helpful for things such as shipping illegal refugees and working with leftover airplanes from World War II and turning them into battle-ready weapons.

What drove these people was a strong sense of history. They all felt horrible about their cousins and relatives who were killed in the Holocaust, and knew that without a State of Israel, another Holocaust could happen again. They were driven by a strong bond that brings all Jews around the world – no matter where they are – to be bonded together in an eternal bond. The Jewish people are truly a Chosen People returning to the Chosen Land.

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