Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I am not surprised that Charles S. Liebman, in his review of Are We One?, would disagree with my analysis of Hebron Jews. And he is certainly entitled to his own favorite version of the encounter between Ben-Gurion and the Hazon Ish. A reviewer, after all, is empowered to pick all nits.

But does my identification of Gush Etzion as a "Labor Zionist" cluster of kibbutzim really demonstrate a "profound ignorance of Israeli history"? Gush Etzion was a mixed bloc of settlements, consisting of three religious kibbutzim affiliated with Hakibbutz Hadati and one secular kibbutz affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair. I inappropriately labeled that curious mixture of God and Marx as "Labor Zionist." Mea culpa.

The point I am making, however, is only strengthened by recognition of the strong presence of religious settlers among Gush Etzion founders. Namely, that Gush Etzion remains a sentimental favorite among Labor Zionists (known for their hostility to religious settlers) because of its historical association with pre-state settlement efforts. That was a time when religious settlers were not, as now, viewed by other Zionists as Zionist pariahs. Even Professor Liebman, I presume, would not dispute the lamentable truth of this historical transformation.

Sincerely,

Jerold S. Auerbach,
Professor of History, Wellesley College

Professor Liebman declines to respond.