I saw this on Scott Roth’s twitter feed, “Seen in Brooklyn” and think it’s a sign of Israel’s shifting image. Chofshi is said to have written the statement in 1959, or it was quoted in the Spectator at that time. He moved to Palestine in 1908, per the same source. His statement is gaining circulation on the net, I see.
We came and turned the native Arabs into tragic refugees. And still we dare to slander and malign them, to besmirch their name. Instead of being deeply ashamed of what we did and trying to undo some of the evil we committed … we justify our terrible acts and even attempt to glorify them.
PS. Roth’s twitter feed has been fascinating recently. He’s in Poland, and braced himself for a day at Auschwitz by conducting a scientific test of Polish vodkas.
A beautiful thing to behold– in Brooklyn! A new flower has bloomed.
(Hope it’s high up enough not to get vandalized.)
Stunningly powerful message.
There is a detailed bio of him up on the Israeli Wikipedia. Nathan Chofshi was born as Nathan Fraenkl in Europe. (Chofshi is a typical new, Israeli-Hebrew name. It translates as “free”.) Chofshi was a vegan and a pacifist. He was no stranger to the Arab-Israeli conflict, having escaped with his two children and sick, pregnant wife from the far north settlement of Metulla in 1920, as the Arab militia entered the gates of the village.
He was an associate of Martin Buber’s and active in Brit Shalom.
He had a farm for many years in the village of Nahalal, whose most famous son was Moshe Dayan.
Lived 1889 – 1980.
Apparently the statement pictured has also been attributed to Erskine Barton Childers (11 March 1929 – 25 August 1996) who was a writer, BBC correspondent and United Nations senior civil servant. From Wikipedia:
● Robert Erskine Childers – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Erskine_Childers
Some more info on Natan Hofshi:
http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/peace-room/consistent-pacifism-natan-hofshi-uniqueness-anita-shapira-gil-dekel/