Rabbi Dr. Bernard Bergman, honorary president of the Religious Zionists of America, accused the nations of the world of hypocrisy and a double standard in their dealings with Israel. Addressing more than 800 guests, including 300 of America’s leading rabbis, at the annual dinner last night of the RZA, Dr. Bergman denied charges that Israel had taken away “the territory of the Arabs. It is our land, not Arab territories,” he declared, “We built this land many, many years ago long before there were any Arabs in the area. And while we were forcibly evicted from the land, we were never really separated from it. It remained the center of our dreams and aspirations and the focal point of our lives.” He asked, rhetorically, “When we returned after 2,000 years what did we find? An Arab country? An Arab civilization? Arab settlements? No,” he answered, “We found a desert.” Rabbi Bergman continued: “The land had waited for us because it was our land. It was we who restored it, who gave it water, trees, settlements, industry, civilization. It was we who gave it life. Our life.”
Rabbi Bergman denounced the UN for talking about one million Arab refugees while ignoring the “historic fact” that there were less than 200,000 Arabs in Palestine “when we came there at the turn of the century.” They came “as we built the country.” Discussing the world’s double standard and hypocrisy, he declared “After 2,000 years of persecuting and murdering us, the nations of the world have become pious. With our blood still on their fingers, they tell us that our borders should not reflect the weight of conquest.” Referring to Big Four talks about “international guarantees,” Rabbi Bergman asked: “Are they serious? Would the U.S. disband all of its nuclear weapons and put its entire navy into mothballs? Would the U.S. permit Russia to build missile bases in Cuba, and rely on U Thant, with his international guarantees to keep peace on this earth? Ridiculous. But no less ridiculous than what is proposed for us in the Middle East. Without secure and defensible borders there cannot be peace in this explosive area,”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
