Blog : Philosémitisme

"Il fut toute sa vie un ami du peuple juif et de la cause sioniste" ( Lt. Randolph Churchill, arrière -petit-fils de Sir Winston Churchill)

Winston Churchill: le seul homme d'État européen du 20e siècle à avoir défendu les Juifs et à ne pas les avoir dénigrer (comme l'a fait le Général de Gaulle).

A bust of Britain's iconic wartime leader, Winston Churchill, was unveiled in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Randolph Churchill, Isaac Winston et Anthony Rosenfelder (JPost)

Daily Telegraph: The late Prime Minister's bronze image now looks out from the Montefiore Gardens over the Tower of David to Jerusalem's Old City, which he first visited in 1921 with Lawrence of Arabia.
Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem claimed the Second World War leader as a champion for Jerusalem and Israel at the ceremony, which was attended by Randolph Churchill, the prime minister's great grandson, and British Ambassador Mathew Gould.  Mr Barkat quoted the great British orator in his address: "If you have enemies, good, it means that you have stood up for something in your life".  The aphorism, he said, captured the Israeli ethos.

The monument, cast from sculptor Oscar Nemon's original mould, marks 95 years since the signing of the Balfour Declaration and 90 years since Winston Churchill first visit to Palestine. But with Israeli elections looming, the timing was politically significant.

"The world is yearning for strong leadership and moral clarity; someone who knows the difference between good and bad," said Isaac Herzog, a Labour politician instrumental in the statue's commission. "These times call for a leader who can be as tough and as bold as Winston Churchill and who can deal with the threats from the East," he added, referring to the threat of a nuclear Iran.

Winston Churchill was a staunch advocate of Zionism and decried a trend towards anti-Semitism among his contemporaries, particularly the British aristocracy.

He was also an early proponent of two states for two peoples as a solution to conflict between Jewish immigrants to Israel and the Arab inhabitants of Palestine.

"Churchill made a huge contribution to the survival of the Jewish people," said Anthony Rosenfelder, the project's British co-trustee, along with the Jerusalem Foundation. "Churchill's name has largely been associated in Israel with the British Mandate, which had a mixed history. But in fact, Churchill fought both the aristocracy and his own cabinet on this point. My view is that [this statue] is righting a wrong."