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Title: Two letters from Palestine
Author: J.T.
Date: April 1938
Language: en
Topics: letter, Palestine, Zionism, Jewish anarchism
Source: Retrieved on 8th June 2022 from https://radicalarchives.org/2009/08/17/anarchist-letters-from-palestine-in-man-1937/
Notes: From MAN!, April 1938, p 8 (400), taken from the reprint in the Greenwood Press anthology.

J.T.

Two letters from Palestine

Palestine, Aug 20, 1937

Dear Comrade:

Only now I have got back the MAN! after they “visited” other comrades

through the country. I read and read them and though I am disagreeing

with you in some things I think that MAN! is the best journal I have

ever seen in English.

Especially hurt me your statement toward the disturbances in Palestine

in August, 1936, and also the statement of your collaborator, Samuel

Palinov, published in the FREIE ARBEITER STIME. I would have written in

particular about the situation in Palestine, but now I want only to

express you my best wishes, and to tell you that in the last August

number there was nothing that I could disagree with. The article of

Voltarine de Celyre appealed very much to me and I am really sorry that

I have no money to do my part in helping you to publish it in pamphlet

form.

J.T.

---

Palestine, August 25, 1937

Dear Comrade:

Just wanted to send you this short letter when I received yours. I thank

you very much for it. And I am trying to answer some of your questions.

A. Of course our circles are against the partition of Palestine; first

because we didn’t lose our faith that there is a possibility of mutual

understanding with the Arabs, and secondly because we are against the

Jewish State, following the ideals of the first laleos pioneers to

Palestine who were (A. B. Gordon and I. Ch. Brener) very near to

Anarchism and stated their idea is “not a Jewish State but a free

creative settlement”, a “Human-Nation” striving for self-determination

and not-assimilated culture.” These men founded the communal movement

which numbers now more than 12,000 members, but who did not follow their

founders. These communards’ life is very near to the anarchist ideals

because they are giving, each one according to his ability, and each one

receives according to his needs. The communes are membered by

Zionist-social-democrats and other Marxist Parties. And we Anarchists

are only a little number scattered among many communes, and though in

the last year we more than doubled our number we are known as members of

a commune, but not as anarchists.

B. That is the reason we cannot get money for our anarchist activity. Of

course we cannot send you handcraft for the same reason. We are very

busy now, in our new movement. Of course I hope to write in the future

for MAN! in Hebrew and shall find some one among my friends who will

translate it into English.

Best wishes to you and to MAN!.

J.T.

---

Since Governmental persecution of anarchists is universal, we are

omitting the name of the Commune from which the two letters came, as

also the name of the writer – EDITOR.