The Origins of Israel, 1882–1948: A Documentary History

62. The Status Quo Agreements (1947)

368 62 The Status Quo Agreements (1947) Labor and Religious Zionists had a long history of political cooperation. At the 1935 Zionist Congress, Mapai drew the Religious Zionist party Mizrahi into a coalition government by offering support for Sabbath closings in the Yishuv. Relations were more tense, however, between Mapai and the ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yisra’el, which opposed Zionism in principle. During the 1930s and Second World War, many leaders of the Agudah endorsed pragmatic cooperation with the Zionist authorities. As these two documents show, the Holocaust and its aftermath at first weakened, and then strengthened, the Agudah’s position vis-à-vis the fledgling Israeli government. Toward the end of 1946, when a declaration of Jewish statehood was appearing increasingly likely, the Agudah demanded from David Ben-Gurion that the future state follow the dictates of Jewish law, but Ben-Gurion and his allies in the Jewish Agency Executive refused. The first document reproduced here, a letter of June 1947 from the Jewish Agency Executive to the Agudah, is couched in generalities and does not guarantee the maintenance of existing legislation within the Yishuv regarding the public observance of the Sabbath, holidays, and dietary laws, as well as rabbinic control over marriage, burial, and conversion. The Agudah’s position was strengthened in the wake of the 1948 War and Israel’s declaration that West Jerusalem, which the United Nations intended to be part of an international trusteeship, would be Israel’s capital. The Israeli leadership feared that Source: Menachem Friedman, “The Structural Foundation for Religio-Political Accommodation in Israel: Fallacy and Reality,” in Israel: The First Decade of Independence, ed. S. Ilan Troen and Noah Lucas (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995), 78–81 (Appendices A and B). Used with permission. protests of ill treatment from the Agudah (whose members were overwhelmingly concentrated in Jerusalem) to the international community might be a public relations disaster. Thus, as shown in the second document, the government offered the Agudah key concessions. ❖ Jewish Agency Executive to the World Federation of Agudat Yisra’el (1 Tammuz 5707/June 19, 1947) Gentlemen: The Jewish Agency Executive has heard from its Chairman your request to guarantee marital affairs, the Sabbath, education, and kashrut in the Jewish state to arise in our day. As the Chairman of the Executive informed you, neither the Jewish Agency Executive nor any other body in the country is authorized to determine the constitution of the Jewish state-in-the-making in advance. The establishment of the state requires the approval of the United Nations, and this will not be possible unless the state guarantees freedom of conscience for all its citizens and makes it clear that we have no intention of establishing a theocratic state. The Jewish state will also have non-Jewish citizens—Christians and Muslims— and full equal rights for all citizens and the absence of coercion or discrimination in religious affairs or other matters clearly must be guaranteed in advance. We were pleased to hear that you understand that no body is authorized to determine the state constitution retroactively, and that the state will be free in certain spheres to determine the constitution and regime according to the will of its citizens. Along with this, the Executive appreciates your demands and realizes that they involve issues of concern not only to members of Agudat Yisra’el but also to many defenders of the Jewish faith, both within the Zionist camps and outside party frameworks, who would understand fully your demand that the Jewish Agency Executive inform you of its position on the issues you raised and stipulate what it is prepared to accomplish regarding your demands on said issues, within the limits of its influence and decision-making powers. The Jewish Agency Executive has appointed the undersigned to formulate its position on the questions you mentioned in the discussions. We hereby inform you of the Jewish Agency Executive’s position: The Status Quo Agreements (1947) 369 A. The Sabbath: It is clear that the legal day of rest in the Jewish state will be Saturday, obviously permitting Christians and members of other faiths to rest on their weekly holiday. B. Kashrut: One should use all means required to ensure that every state kitchen intended for Jews will have kosher food. C. Marital Affairs: All members of the Executive recognize the serious nature of the problem and the great difficulties involved. All...