Introduction

Alterman's verse-form op-eds were regular features in the Friday edition of the daily paper Davar, the mouthpiece of Israel's ruling Labor Party.1 Although he never held an official office, Alterman was highly influential in Israeli politics, and often expressed ideological views akin to those of Ben-Gurion.2 In "The New Pumbedita" he echoed Ben-Gurion's opposition to forms of Zionism that do not hold Aliyah (immigration to Israel) as their ultimate goal. Any weakening of American Jewry, any disruption of its communal life, any lowering of its sense of security, any diminution of its status, is a definite loss to Jews everywhere and to Israel in particular.5 Much of the research here examines this second question and tries to assess whether Ben-Gurion was sincere in acknowledging the importance of a full and vibrant life for the Jews in the Diaspora, or whether he was merely taking a pragmatic approach in his depiction of the political and economic support Israel needed from American Jewry as not necessarily aligned with Zionism, that is, it would not cast aspersions on the loyalty of American Jews to the United States. [...]a word of caution. The Israeli perspective in the exchange tended to ignore this analogy. [...]any comparison between "The New Pumbedita" and the exchange must refer to the perspectives of the American Jewish committee, and question whether the distinction Ben-Gurion and Alterman both drew between Zionists and non-Zionists reflected the reality of American Jews or the interests of Israel.