There are pasted-on half pages, numerous cross-outs and insertions in meticulous penmanship and an open acknowledgment that some of the mathematics was beyond even him. Albert Einstein personally rewrote the laws of physics in a sparsely furnished central Berlin apartment nearly a century ago and the resulting manuscript, profoundly human and surprisingly moving to examine, has been put on display here for the first time. <...> "Dear Mother!" it begins, "Today some happy news. Lorentz telegraphed me that the British expeditions have verified the deflection of light by the sun." So sorry, he adds, to hear that you are not feeling well. Einstein's relationship to Israel was complex. A self-described universalist, he became a Zionist when he witnessed anti-Semitism in Europe. Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, was a key influence on him. Walter Isaacson, who wrote a 2007 biography of Einstein, said by telephone that Einstein wanted Jews to move here but did not back a separate Jewish nation-state until after it was declared in 1948. ...
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"Dear Mother!" it begins, "Today some happy news. Lorentz telegraphed me that the British expeditions have verified the deflection of light by the sun." So sorry, he adds, to hear that you are not feeling well.
Einstein's relationship to Israel was complex. A self-described universalist, he became a Zionist when he witnessed anti-Semitism in Europe. Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, was a key influence on him. Walter Isaacson, who wrote a 2007 biography of Einstein, said by telephone that Einstein wanted Jews to move here but did not back a separate Jewish nation-state until after it was declared in 1948. ...
The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world, if correctly informed as to Mr. Begin's political record and perspectives, could add their names and support to the movement he represents
Einstein on Israel and Zionism focuses on correcting a widely accepted story - that Einstein was a major supporter, a "champion" of the state of Israel - a story told and retold primarily by the mainstream media. While Einstein was a secular Jew, had mixed feelings about Zionism, and supported the goal of a Jewish "homeland" within Palestine, he never wavered from arguing forcefully for equal rights and equal power for the Arabs -- whom he called "kinfolk" of the Jews. His nationalism had no room for any kind of aggressiveness or chauvinism. For him, the domination of Jew over Arab in Palestine, or the perpetuation of a state of mutual hostility between the two peoples would mean the failure of Zionism.
Einstein on Israel and Zionism focuses on correcting a widely accepted story - that Einstein was a major supporter, a "champion" of the state of Israel - a story told and retold primarily by the mainstream media.
While Einstein was a secular Jew, had mixed feelings about Zionism, and supported the goal of a Jewish "homeland" within Palestine, he never wavered from arguing forcefully for equal rights and equal power for the Arabs -- whom he called "kinfolk" of the Jews. His nationalism had no room for any kind of aggressiveness or chauvinism. For him, the domination of Jew over Arab in Palestine, or the perpetuation of a state of mutual hostility between the two peoples would mean the failure of Zionism.
