There is a story, probably an apocryphal one, that a few days before the first Zionist congress in 1897, the historian Joseph Klausner asked an American rabbi whether there were any Zionists in the United States. “Yes,” replied the rabbi, “there are two. A mad man named Stephen Wise and a mad woman, Henrietta Szold.”¹ Although an exaggeration, the story reflects the weakness of early American Zionism. Yet from initial insignificance in the 1890s, the American Zionist movement rose to a position of paramount importance in the 1940s, when, in partnership with Palestinian Zionists, it played a decisive role in...

The extraordinary intensification of Zionist activities in the United States after the outbreak of the war in Europe in 1939 provoked an American Jewish anti-Zionist reaction. Its most serious manifestation was the emergence in 1942 of a Reform rabbinical resistance movement against Zionism, in reaction to passage by the CCAR of a resolution favoring creation of a Jewish army in Palestine. The rebellious rabbis were not wild-eyed radicals, but respectable defenders of American classical Reform Judaism.

Although, at its peak, no more than thirty-six rabbis participated actively in the dissident movement, these few formed two main schools of thought: One...

Thirteen rabbis assembled at Wolsey’s Temple Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia on 2 November 1942 to explore plans for creating a formal organization. Rabbi Goldenson came accompanied by Sidney Wallach, a public-relations expert and former employee of the AJC, who brought along a proposal for immediate action. Describing their movement as the last stand against the rapid progress of Zionism, Wallach warned the rabbis of the dire consequences of its failure. Since Zionists were organized, the opposition also had to organize. Wallach recommended a public-relations program for fighting Zionism that called for a campaign to educate the Jewish community about the...

By the end of August 1943, both sides were mobilized. The publication of the Council’s platform during the American Jewish Conference sparked open political warfare between anti-Zionists and Zionists. With their objectives clearly defined, both sides embarked on campaigns to win support for their respective causes as well as to discredit their opponents. Several acrimonious encounters between protagonists of the opposing sides late in 1943 and early in 1944 reflected the bitterness of the conflict.

Rabbi Reichert’s Yom Kippur eve sermon in San Francisco on 8 October 1943, asking his congregation to choose between the ZOA and the ACJ, evoked...

In 1945, the year World War II ended and the Palestine question resurfaced as a serious international problem, the Council experienced its maximum growth. Elmer Berger traveled across the country for almost six months, working incessantly to help organize local ACJ branches. As a result of his and Rosenwald’s efforts, the Council grew from 9 to 23 chapters and its membership increased from 5,300 to 10,300. Throughout 1945 the Council distributed close to 750,000 pieces of literature, of which about 500,000 were copies of theInformation Bulletin.This distribution also included several pamphlets based on Wallach’s and Berger’s articles and...

Between January 1946 and February 1947, the Palestine question emerged as a major international problem. The period began on a promising note, with the United States and Great Britain cooperating in an effort to find a compromise solution. It proved a difficult task.

The Anglo—American Committee of lnquiry (AACI), the formation of which had been announced simultaneously on 13 November 1945 by President Harry Truman and Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, was a joint attempt by the United States and Great Britain to resolve the Palestine impasse. It was instructed to examine the condition of European Jews, to evaluate, in...

On 18 February 1947, Ernest Bevin officially informed the House of Commons of the British cabinet’s decision to refer the Palestine question to the United Nations. This decision ushered in the final phase of the struggle for Palestine, fifteen months of dramatic political, diplomatic, and military developments that culminated in the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948. For the Council, it was a time of unusually frantic activities, a frenzy signifying the last leg of its desperate campaign to prevent the creation of a Jewish state.¹

Immediately after learning about the shift in Britain's policy, the Council...

One week after the Israeli declaration of independence, the Council officially accepted the reality of the Jewish state. At the same time, however, it clearly dissociated itself from that state. To American Jews, the ACJ declared, Israel was neither the state nor the homeland of “the Jewish people.” It was simply a foreign state. Distrustful of Israel and Zionists, the ACJ reiterated its commitment to oppose their interference in the affairs of American Jews.¹

The establishment of Israel precipitated a major crisis within the ACJ. Berger and his partisans believed that the organization should continue its work. On the other...