Saturday, September 24, 2005

Quotation of the day

The following quotation is from a telegram sent to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin by Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion on 4 November 1948. An English language version of the telegram is reproduced in Eytan Bentsur, ed., Documents on Israeli-Soviet Relations, 1941-1953 (London: Frank and Cass, 2000), vol. 1, doc. 192, p. 395. It is from that period of time when Israel was dependent upon military and diplomatic support from the Soviet bloc to expel the Palestinians from their homeland. Despite a lot of later historical revisionism, the founding of Israel was a left-wing socialist cause heavily backed by the USSR under Stalin and the world's various communist parties. I will let the quotation stand without further comment.

In the name of the State of Israel and in my own name I am pleased to offer best wishes on the occasion of the anniversary of the October Revolution which guaranteed national equality to the peoples of the USSR, secured employment and a means of existence for all its workers, opened the path to social and spiritual progress for the urban and rural masses and gave birth to the powerful Red Army which achieved an immense feat in the war against the fascist Nazi threat. Our people will never forget the assistance rendered by the struggle for liberty and independence in its historic homeland. I wish the people of your country fulfillment, reconstruction in the wake of the war, economic progress, peace and international understanding.

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