Sanctifying the Land and Negating the State – Religion and Politics in the Testimony of J.L. Magnes before the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry
Abstract
The Anglo American Committee of Inquiry, convened in 1946, was tasked with proposing a solution for the Displaced Persons in Europe and the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Palestine. The long
list of witnesses who testified before the committee presented a crosssection of the worldviews that shaped the Jewish-Arab conflict from its inception. Such was the case in the testimony of Martin Buber and Judah Leib Magnes on behalf of “Ihud”, which epitomized the cause of moralistic-prophetic Zionism in promoting a bi-national solution for Palestine.
In this paper I explore whether the political standpoint of Magnes, as presented before the committee, was actually derived from his religious worldview. Furthermore, I suggest that, notwithstanding the geopolitical and pragmatic consideration that shaped the Committee’s outcome, Magnes’ distinct theopolitical worldview and formulas might actually have influenced the final report of the committee.
