Rudolf Kastner: Hero or Traitor?

In January 1954, the Attorney General v. Gruenwald case AKA the Kasztner trial began. This was seemingly an open and shut libel case between an elderly Hungarian Jew and Israeli government official, Israel Rudolf Kasztner. 

However, when the story of the impossible choices Kastner faced at the hands of the Nazis came to light, Israel was in an uproar. Somehow, this seemingly straightforward trial sent the country reeling, caused a government fallout and led to one of Israel’s first political assassinations. 

Big Ideas

1. In the early years of modern Israel, many Holocaust survivors were looked down upon due to the myth that they didn’t fight back and as a result didn’t conform to the image of the new Jew.
2. Do not judge others unless you’ve been in their shoes as it’s difficult to ascertain somebody’s situation from the outside.

Essential Questions

1. Do we have the right to judge Rudolf Kastner and the circumstances he faced?
2. What was the impact of silencing conversation about the Holocaust during the early years of the fledgling country? What effect did this have in shaping the idea of the new Israeli?