The Land of Israel in the Life of the Ghetto in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume V

The Land of Israel in the Life of the Ghetto as Reflected in the Illegal Warsaw Ghetto Press

Reports concerning all aspects of life in Israel and Zionism caused the masses to feel less isolated and strengthened their faith in the continued existence of the Jewish people. All happenings in Palestine were immediately published and commented upon. Rommel’s advances in North Africa and the threat it posed to Palestine caused great concern. The Zionists, as opposed to the Bundists, saw little future for the Jews in postwar Poland and believed that the Jews needed a free land of their own, which would absorb millions of immigrants. The British imperialistic policy was opposed, whereas the attitude to the Soviet Union was ambivalent. However, the majority leaned towards a socialist–labor proletariat in the land of Israel based on new foundations. The Bundists sought liberation and equal rights, even as a minority nationality in other countries. The Zionists preached mass emigration, adding national content into the cultural lives of the masses in the Diaspora, increasing the economic structure by increasing productivity and strengthening the permanent ties between the Galut and the land of Israel