This certificate represents a $1,000 donation to the Palestine Independence Fund “to aid and speed the recognition of a democratic Hebrew nation”. The fund was an arm of the American League for a Free Palestine, and the certificate states that the donation will “help underwrite Hebrew independence in recognition that only through the security and dignity of a national homeland and in an atmosphere of complete freedom will the endless wandering and distress of Israel be brought to an early end and its people restored to peace and happiness among the nations of the earth.”
The League was formed in 1944 as a non-sectarian organization and sought the reestablishment within the historic boundaries of Palestine of the renascent Hebrew nation, stating that the Jewish people have been recognized by the sovereign nations of the world as having a historical connection to that land.
Hillel Kook (also known as Peter Bergson) was the founder of the League and it attracted Jewish and non-Jewish members from all occupations, but especially those in politics and entertainment. Its most notable achievement was the 1946 Broadway play A Flag is Born, starring a young Marlon Brando and written by Ben Hecht (who signed this certificate). Proceeds from the play were used to purchase a boat (renamed the Ben Hecht) for the illegal aliyahof Holocaust survivors from France.
Kook was a controversial figure. He was vocal in trying to encourage the United States government to save European Jews during the Holocaust and was opposed by mainstream Jewish and Zionist organizations which publicly attacked him.
Elected to Israel’s first government as a member of the Herutparty alongside Menachem Begin, Kook became disillusioned with the reality of Israel. He left the country for 17 years, returning only in 1968 and then lived outside Tel Aviv until his death in 2001.
Kook believed that Israel should have a majority of Jewish citizens but supported non-Jewish citizens having equal rights and privileges and saw no reason why Israel could not have a non-Jewish president. He also strongly believed that Israel should have a constitution, saying that not having one was “Israel’s greatest tragedy.”
He was also one of the first Israelis to call for a Palestinian state shortly after the Six Day War. In 1982, he said “The Palestinian problem has to be faced squarely and realistically. There is a Palestinian people. I see no reason to continue claiming there is no such people.”
Ultimately, Kook believed Israel should be a normal country. Others believe that Israel’s purpose is not to be a country like every other nation. What do you believe?
