Hillel Kook - Legacy

Legacy

Kook had been largely forgotten in the years leading up to his death, which was likely both the result of his decision to abandon his public activist persona, as well as his clashes with Begin and his loyalists, for whom it was convenient to downplay Kook's accomplishments and involvements in the Irgun and Herut Party's histories. Similarly, Kook's role in America has been given fairly minimal scholarly attention. Again, this must be seen as at least partially the result of Kook's iconoclastic personality, which made him few friends among the American Jewish establishment or its successors.

Since the late 1990s, some historians have attempted to restore Kook to a position of semi-prominence by re-examining and evaluating the significance and importance of his American activities during World War Two, and, in a secondary capacity, his role as a political opponent of Begin. One allegation Kook historians and supporters have made is that Kook's adversaries, both in Israel and America, have historically downplayed some of his accomplishments, as well as attempted to minimize their own role in curtailing his activities. David Wyman and Rafael Medoff, co-authors of a 2002 Kook biography, suggested that, had it not been for the interference of the American Jewish establishment, Kook might have become as successful (and noteworthy) a rescuer as Oskar Schindler or Raoul Wallenberg. Some have also suggested that Kook's story remains politically troubling for authority figures in Israel and America, as it illustrates that their main priorities were not in promoting awareness of the Holocaust, in trying to stop it, or in helping the survivors flee Europe.

A play, The Accomplices, written by Bernard Weintraub and based on Kook's wartime efforts in the United States premiered at The New Group in 2007 and played thereafter in regional theatres. It played also in Jerusalem in April 2009.

The role of Hillel Kook (aka "Peter Bergson") was played twice onstage by actor Steven Schub (lead singer of The Fenwicks), in 2008 at The Fountain Theatre and in 2009 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. Rafi Poch played Hillel Kook in Jerusalem.