Letter from Ze'ev Jabotinsky to Chief Rabbi Herzog regarding the unification of forces loyal to Herzlian Zionism

Significant letter from Ze’ev Jabotinsky concerning the unification of forces loyal to Herzlian Zionism, sent from London to Jerusalem to the Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac HaLevi Herzog, on January 11, 1939, just months before the outbreak of World War II. Typewritten on official letterhead, with Jabotinsky’s handwritten signature.

In this letter, Jabotinsky responds to Rabbi Herzog after receiving his previous correspondence, expressing full agreement that the urgent task of the hour is to unite all forces loyal to Herzl’s vision of Zionism. He renews his earlier proposal, previously rejected by the leadership of the Jewish Agency in 1937 and again in the summer of 1938, to establish a united body that would also include Agudat Yisrael, under the name “Committee for the Salvation of the Nation”, which would bring together all factions under a common Zionist purpose. He proposes that this be done through what he calls a “round table”: “A round table, as you well know, Your Eminence, means the inclusion of the various factions of Camp Aleph as well as Camp Bet, not merely a secret meeting between emissaries of the two leaderships (since such a limited meeting would resemble a duel more than a round table).” He adds: “My friends are ready to attend such a gathering at any time, to listen to and consider any plan brought before us, on the condition that the other participants also listen to and consider any plan we propose... There is no better path to unifying the forces, and no other.” Jabotinsky goes a step further, proposing a public boycott of any faction that refuses to come to the round table aimed at unifying the Zionist movement. With great respect for Rabbi Herzog’s public stature, he writes: “I would be most pleased if you would be the one to lead it.” He calls for a common framework that would bring together the Jewish Legion, Agudat Yisrael, and the Jewish Agency.

At that time, a deep rift separated the mainstream Zionist movement, led by David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann, from the Revisionist camp led by Jabotinsky. In 1935, the Revisionists split from the World Zionist Organization and founded the New Zionist Organization (NZO). The letter was written during a period in which the Yishuv was under attack from the Arab Revolt, and the looming threat of the British White Paper (eventually published in May 1939) was already casting its shadow. The letter also reflects Jabotinsky’s longstanding disappointment with the rabbinic world, which until then had not embraced his activist, militant vision for the Jewish people. Nonetheless, he identifies in Rabbi Herzog a central figure capable of bridging the religious and political worlds, and believes he is the one to lead this unified effort. This letter represents one of Jabotinsky’s final and most desperate attempts to form a unified Jewish front, in the hope that the Chief Rabbinate could help bridge the profound ideological divisions within the Zionist movement.

[1] Official letterhead. Very good condition.