Haim Arlosoroff - Biography

Biography

Haim Arlosoroff was born in Romny, Ukraine on February 23, 1899. In the Ukraine, he was known as Vitaly, the Russian equivalent of Haim. When living in Germany, he was known as Viktor. Arlosoroff's paternal grandfather was Rabbi Eliezer Arlosoroff of Romny, an author of religious commentaries on the Talmud. At the age of six, Arlosoroff encountered anti-Semitism for the first time. In 1905, the Arlosoroff family home in Romny was attacked during a violent pogrom. The family fled across the German border to East Prussia. Seven years later the family settled in Königsberg, Germany. Arlosoroff thus became fluent in German, in addition to studying Hebrew with a tutor. When World War I began in 1914, the family did not have German citizenship and were threatened with deportation. The family eventually obtained permission to move to Berlin. When his father, Saul, returned to Ukraine on business, he was barred from returning and died there of cholera. Arlosoroff studied economics at the University of Berlin and obtained a doctorate in that subject. During his studies, he wrote articles on Zionist affairs. In Germany, he became a key leader of Ha-Po'el ha-Tza'ir, ("The Young Worker Party"), a political party which attracted many of the intellectuals of the time. As a result of his party affiliation, Arlosoroff was appointed editor of "Die Arbeit", a journal in which his writings were first published.

In 1919, Arlosoroff published the treatise "Jewish People's Socialism", his first major written contribution relating to a nationalistic hope for the Jewish people in Eretz Israel. In his treatise, Arlosoroff distanced himself from traditional Marxist beliefs by advocating a new brand of socialism that embraced a national consciousness. Arlosoroff's contention was that the Jewish people would only be able to preserve and revive their unique cultural identities within a Jewish national homeland. Arlosoroff further professed, that through the establishment of "Jewish People's Socialism", Jews would be guaranteed public land ownership upon their return to Eretz Israel. In accord with the visions of other socialist Zionists of his time, Arlosoroff believed that ancient Biblical agricultural traditions, such as the "Sabbath Year" and "Year of Jubilee", could be restored in modern practice alongside institutional parameters established for the new Jewish nation . Arlosoroff's treatise accurately predicted a powerful resurgence of the Hebrew language would accompany the return of Jewish people to Eretz Israel.

Arlosoroff first visited the Holy Land in 1921. An anti-Jewish riot by Arabs broke out during his visit. This event helped draw Arlosoroff's focus to the need for better relations between Jews and Arabs. Arlosoroff would come to the position that strength-based compromise with neighboring Arabs would not weaken or undermine efforts to establish a Jewish national homeland. In addition, Arlosoroff would openly acknowledge the undeniable existence of an Arab national movement in Eretz Israel.

In the 1923 Zionist Congress, Arlosoroff was elected to the Zionist Action Committee. He was only 24 years old at the time. Turning down a university position, he left Germany for the British Mandate of Palestine in 1924. In 1926 he was chosen to represent the yishuv at the League of Nations in Geneva.

Arlosoroff's hope for peaceful cooperation and compromise with Arabs would be severely tested. In 1929, the consciously aggressive Betar Youth Movement, organized under Ze'ev Jabotinsky's Union of Revisionist Zionists, took part in a coalition to assertively enforce and enlarge a Jewish presence in the proximity of the Wailing Wall. The activities of Betar and their associates inflamed an explosive reaction from the Arab community, as it was perceived Muslim mosques on the adjacent Temple Mount had been dishonored. The violent Western Wall Uprisings of 1929 ensued, which resulted in the loss of many lives, including civilians. Instead of inciting further Arab tensions, Arlosoroff strongly criticized the Revisionists for insensitively provoking the animosity.