Churchill and the Jews
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Churchill and the Jews

Churchill and the Jews

One of his finest hours.


Sir Martin Gilbert is a renowned British historian, as well as Winston Churchill's official biographer. He is the author of 72 books, including many devoted to Israeli and Jewish history, among them The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War, Israel: A History and Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction.


His latest book, Churchill and the Jews: A Lifelong Friendship, provides a road map of the statesman's intricate relationship with Jewish personalities and issues during his lifetime. It also unites Gilbert's two primary interests - Churchill and the Jewish people.


Although operating in a cultural milieu in which anti-Semitism was rampant among Europe's ruling elites, Gilbert demonstrates how Churchill differed greatly from his peers, who were critical of Jews and Zionism, and scoffed at even the remotest suggestion of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine. Indeed, Churchill had close familial ties with prominent British and European Jews, and once remarked that the Jewish people were "the most formidable and most remarkable race which has appeared in the world."

World Jewish Digest recently spoke with Gilbert about Churchill's diplomatic role in the establishment of a Jewish state, his unflinching support for the Zionist enterprise and his legacy, which resounds even today.



He truly believed the Zionists would make something special of Palestine.


Sir Martin Gilbert (SMG): His principal involvement began in 1921 when Prime Minister Lloyd George appointed him as colonial secretary with special responsibility for working out the rules and regulations of the Palestine mandate with regard to the Jewish national homeland. The first [notable] decision he made was to give the Zionists...monopoly power to modernize the country - to harness the waters of the Jordan and Yarkon rivers for electrical power, which not only would create employment for both Jews and Arabs, but also enable the Jews to begin to plan for substantial urban and rural development in Palestine. Although Churchill's decision led to fierce anti-Semitic outbursts against him in the British House of Commons, he unfailingly maintained it because he truly believed the Zionists would make something special of Palestine. He stressed over and over that it was the British government's duty, and to a certain extent the British taxpayer's obligation, to make sure that the Jews could build up the industrial potential of Palestine.

JD: What factors, in your opinion, convinced Churchill that 'the Zionists would make something special of Palestine'?

SMG: There are a couple of reasons. First, he had this very short but very intense period where he was a member of parliament for Manchester Northwest in 1904. During that time, he was deeply impressed by the ethical and communal standards of its Jewish community. Second, his admiration for the Jews was reinforced during his 1921 trip to Palestine. There was this episode, which I found in the archives of Rishon Le-Zion [an early Jewish settlement], related to Churchill's visit. A debate had gone on before his arrival between the old-timers and the newcomers. The old-timers said, 'Look, we've got an opportunity. The British minister is coming. Let's tell him all our problems - the fact that the Arabs are attacking us, that the weather isn't good, etc.' But the newcomers said, 'No, not at all. Let's show him instead what we're capable of doing,' which is exactly what they did. Churchill again was deeply impressed. In fact, the first thing he tells parliament when he gets back to London is that he's seen these people and their enthusiasm, and states unequivocally, 'I defy anybody to say that [they] should be at the mercy of Arab attacks from outside.'

Given that he had seen the idealism of Zionism firsthand, he believed the British government was right to commit itself to a Jewish national homeland and he argued strongly for it. His 1922 White Paper, [the parliamentary paper enunciating the British government's policy], that stated that 'the Jews are in Palestine of a right; not on sufferance,' was eventually passed by the House of Commons and the League of Nations. This led to the immigration into Palestine of 300,000 Jews.

WJD: Why did Zionism attract Churchill's personal sympathy?


In my book...I give some excerpts from his 1931 article in the Sunday Chronicle about Moses, which takes issue with people who say that Moses was only an allegorical figure. Churchill said, 'No, not at all. This is reality and [his identity and leadership were] a genuine historical event.' But what had excited him about the Moses story was, on the one hand, the Jewish destiny -- God's promise to the Jews -- and, on the other, Jewish ethics.




There's an extraordinary passage by Churchill with reference to the latter in a speech he gave in Jerusalem in 1921, which dumbfounds me every time I read it. He said, 'We owe to the Jews in the Christian revelation a system of ethics, which, even if it were entirely separated from the supernatural, would be incomparably the most precious possession of mankind, worth in fact the fruits of all other wisdom and learning put together. On that system and by that faith there has been built out of the wreck of the Roman Empire the whole of our existing civilization.' That's an extraordinary thing to say, especially in public.

In addition, I cannot stress enough the importance of the few days Churchill spent throughout Palestine in 1921. The contrast between the extraordinary negative points of view put forth by the Palestinian Arabs and the equally positive ones put forth by the Zionists struck him enormously. Churchill didn't like negativism and he couldn't comprehend why the Palestinian Arabs were being so negative. It's quite curious. If you have a look at what the Palestinian Arabs told him, you'll find that three or four are actually in the Hamas Charter today, such as the world Jewish conspiracy and so on and so forth. That said, the Palestinian Arabs just made a bad impression on him and subsequently, he became very negative toward them; in modern terms, almost racist. When Churchill spoke to the Palestinian Arabs, he actually said to them, 'You've got to help the Zionists. They're people of quality and inasmuch as they'll succeed, you'll succeed. Without them you won't succeed.'


SMG: Churchill didn't like bullying or appeasement from weakness or fear. In the 1930's, he was totally against the British government's policy of appeasement toward both Germany and the Arab states. In fact, Neville Chamberlain and his government and cabinet committees were very fearful of the Arabs, saying, 'Look, the Saudis are against us. The Muslims in India are against us. The Egyptians, who had just become independent in 1936, are against us.' This led Chamberlain to make the appalling statement: 'If we must offend one side, then let's offend the Jews rather than the Arabs.' Now, Churchill couldn't accept that. In his speech against the 1939 White Paper, which restricted Jewish immigration and ended effectively Jewish land purchase in Palestine, he responded by saying, 'We're groveling to these people because they're threatening us, but we've given our pledge to the Jews. How will they react? How will Hitler react if we renege on our pledge to the Jews? What value will there be in our commitments if we don't honor this one?'

WJD: This was a great sign of moral clarity on Churchill's behalf...





SMG: Israel is a young state and young states have to think initially in terms of survival. Look, 60 years after the foundation of the United States, it was still fighting a war with Britain. Sixty years constitute a short time, particularly for a country like Israel, which has neighbors and enemies who are not giving it much of a chance. That said, I think another very difficult problem for Israel, which is something that doesn't generally affect newer states, is the occupation since 1967. One wouldn't wish being an occupying power on anybody. It happened by accident. Israel was not seeking to be the ruler. It happened and this means that it's a burden.


SMG: I hope Israel has the leaders today that it needs. I think that's all you can say. You just have to hope and pray that the ones they've got are the right ones.






WJD: As Churchill's official biographer, what do you consider to be his principal legacy?

SMG: His personal legacy was that you have to try to overcome and get past setbacks and rejections. In other words, you mustn't give up if you believe in something strongly, especially if you see that something as contributing toward the well-being of mankind.



This article originally appeared in


Published: April 28, 2008

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Visitor Comments: 16

(14) wa le, August 13, 2014 11:12 AM

the govt was ruled by cabinet during the war and was opposed to Jewish immigration and land purchase and I know that Antony Eden of the foreign office had great say in the conduct of the war vis a vis Palestine and Jewish refuge there. he was opposed to immigration due to realpolitik and the threat of Arab disorder in the middle east due to Jewish humanitarian efforts. he also looked askance at special projects to rescue certain Jews by sending them to Palestine. anyway the white paper of 1939 to which Churchill was opposed held sway for policy during ww2.

wa le, August 25, 2014 11:27 AM

churchill cared

Churchill could not do much for the Jews in Hitler's Europe or in Palestine. This was because of national policy reflected in the white paper 1939 and also in the cabinet, foreign and colonial offices. He could only help in small ways one of which, according to Paul Johnson, was to push for the formation of the Jewish Legion in ww 2, against fierce opposition from the army and, to assume, the war office. It took many months for this to take place, during which time Churchill spoke out for it and eventually was formed, 25,000 men, sent to Italy where they got battle experience against the Germans and were to become a factor in Israel's battle for freedom in 1947-49.

(13) Mike, August 12, 2014 5:18 PM

White Paper

I wonder why this was not mentioned.
It shows true colors.
Even worse, the full-scale Holocaust started in 1941 when it became clear to the Nazis that no country would willingly accept them.
The British were charged with administering Eretz Israel on behalf of the Jewish people.
I wonder if murder and letting people be murdered is considered action on someone's behalf.

(12) Joe, January 9, 2011 4:13 PM

A Struggle for the Soul of the Jewish People by Churchill

Chiurchill seems to have supported the formation of the state of israel to combat Russian Bolshevism, which he believed was instigated by what he called "international jews". HE wasnted to divert Jews around the world to a focus of a Jewish homeland and away from Bolshevism. See article by Churchill himself below.

(11) Thomas Buchan, November 22, 2008 5:47 AM

Reply to Dharma 15/9/2006

Churchill did not turn his back on the jewish people. During 1939 to 1945 we were fighting for our own lives. Our ships bringing food to our country were being sunk by the german-boats, 50 million people were being brought to the starvation point. Our cities were being bombed, and Londons docks bombed flat, thousands of men, women, and children killed. Our army in France escaped backto England with no weapons. Would you agree that Churchill was very busy trying to save our country of 50 million people .I am very sorry for what happened to the Jewish people but you are completley wrong to say he did,nt care.Churchill was just the man we needed to fight the German's he led us to Victory.Your view that Churchill was a thight friend 0f America & Russia is completely wrong, yes America but not Russia. Churchill could not convince America to beware of Russia he, hated communism.I would say to you, Churchill was working night and day for Englands survival.

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