More about the British and Israel and the pride that prevents reconciliation

A number of books have recently been published about Churchill:

Click here: Churchill and the Jewish state | Jerusalem Post

Most Israelis think highly of him. But there's also this from an expert on east European and Israeli Jewish history about Churchill and his Jewish constitutents in Broughton, Manchester:

A tour of Jewish Manchester showed how Churchill got elected and then did not keep his promises and lost the next election: among his promises - labour rights, made to Jewish workers in the factories. His constituents in the sweat shops of lower Broughton loathed him.

Later on, the Churchill White Paper sanctified and hardened the anti-immigration line of the British Mandatory government in Palestine, and Jews were unable to leave central and eastern Europe for any destination.

While I can understand that his official biography is less focused on these issues, this particular book should shed light on them. I find it very hard to square these facts with this kind of review.

It's always been a puzzle why Churchill lost the immediate post-War election. Reasons normally given are that the Labour Party promised much to the ordinary worker. However, it is shocking to read that Jewish constituents living in my own area of Manchester 'loathed' him for his indifference or worse, and that he effectively 'hardened his heart' towards the Jews wanting to leave for Israel.

What does this tell us?

http://www.uscj.org/Vaera_57666921.html

I also think that these words from the above link are apposite:

How often does pride get in our way when we should should reconcile with someone?

First of all, nobody's perfect, which is why it's often far easier to be magnanimous towards those furthest away, whilst neglecting and being cruel towards what's on your own patch.

On 'hardening hearts', there's more here relevant to Pharoah of Egypt and yesterday's Torah sedra from the book of Exodus, which also features the immortal words: Let my people go

Comments

[Pageantmaster]

Just to thank you so much Dr. Lancaster for all you do to promote understanding between Anglicans like myself and Jews and working for peace in the Middle East. Wishing you a very happy new year.