preview

Sharett Rhetorical Analysis

Better Essays

Throughout this speech, Sharett utilizes a strategy of anticipating theoretical arguments that are counter to the Jews settling in Palestine, then he offering up an alternate interpretation to that idea that emphasizes the importance of the creation of a Jewish State. This first occurs when when he poses the idea, “It may sound quite plausible to argue that if the right of the Jews to return to Palestine is admitted on the grounds of ancient history, then the whole map of the world would have to be remade and chaos would ensue.” By saying this, Sharett poses what sounds like a reasonable argument against his goal of the creation of a Jewish State. However, by raising the objection himself, he allows himself to engage the idea on terms. In …show more content…

He does this effectively when he dismisses the idea that the Jews could continue to live in Germany, despite Hitler having been killed, and the Nazi Party overthrown saying, “It is true that Hitler is gone now, but not anti-Semitism. He was the product, not the source of German Jew-hatred. Anti-Semitism in Germany and in many other parts of Europe is as rife as ever and potentially militant and fierce.” Sharett paints anti-semitism, not as a tumor that can be removed by removing the person, but as a disease that will eventually lead to the death of European Jews. There is no friendly country for the Jews to settle in. There is no coexisting in Europe, or anywhere else. There is only independance, and without independence, there will be no more Jews. He visits this idea again when he discusses the potential Jewish relationship with the Palestinians. He does this definitively when he says, “The great historic phenomenon of the Jewish return to Palestine is unique because the position of the Jewish people as a homeless people and yet attached with an unbreakable tenacity to its birthplace is unique.” This line, perfectly encapsulates Sharetts goal, directly addressing that regardless of where Jews have lived, they have always been “homeless,” those places have always been temporarily. The Jews have always been …show more content…

Secretary McCloy demonstrate the push and pull inside the US Government, after they discovered what was happening in the concentration camp, between the want to come to the aid of the Jews, and the lack of military value, and the urge to help these people. It is significant that the US knew what was going on in these camps, but was unable or unwilling to act. It is relevant to what Sharett is pursuing because in the time after WWII, many felt guilty for what had happened, and for not acting soon enough. This led to a wave of action at the end of WWII that Sharett hoped to ride to the creation of an independent Jewish State. The historian Ian Kershaw once said “the road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference. This is true not just of Auschwitz, but of all human tragedies. In the time since the end of WWII, there are numerous examples of tragedy that was enabled by

Get Access