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create the impression that there is no regime in this land and no security for the individual." The impression of the three was that the High Commissioner was nervous. When the issue of the victims of World War II, which had ended several months before, had come up, Dr. Joseph mentioned that the Jewish people lost five million of its brethren (the full scope of the Holocaust was not yet known). To which the Commissioner responded: "Every nation suffered casualties in this war...".
The Building in which the "Status Quo" was Born
Among the walls of the building, one of the most seminal documents in the state's existence and in fact before its birth, was composed – "The Status Quo Document" on religious matters.
The document was born in the summer of 1947. The UN Committee of Inquiry, known by its acronym UNSCOP, was on its way to the Land of Israel in order to study the roots of the three-way conflict – Jews-Arabs-British – and to propose a solution for this difficult issue. The leadership of the Jewish Yishuv, headed by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency David Ben-Gurion, prepared for its appearance before the Committee. Ben-Gurion understood that if each party and organization appeared separately before the Committee, it would damage the Zionist interest and reduce the chance of a decision to establish a Jewish state on at least part of the Land of Israel. He therefore remained in contact with the leaders of the movements and parties, heard their positions and came to an agreement as to their representation in the statements the heads of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organisation – He himself, Weizmann and Shertok – would make to the Committee.
And then he discovered a tough nut. The global movement of "Agudat Yisrael" was outside of the Zionist Organisation framework and it announced its intention to appear separately before the Committee. Anyone who followed that happenings within this Haredi movement discovered that a fierce debate was taking place within it as to whether it should appear separately, or to join with the Agency Executive that would represent it as well. At first it seemed that "Agudat Yisrael" would insist on appearing separately, but various voices within it and around it were pressuring it not to do so. That is what the "Poalei Agudat Yisrael" faction did and the movement's youth also supported a joint representation.
Ben-Gurion and emissaries on his behalf – Members of the Jewish Agency's executive the Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fishman ("the Mizrachi") Moshe Shapira ("Hapoel HaMizrachi") and Golda Meyerson (Mapai) – made direct contact with the heads of the "Aguda" and made efforts to dissuade them from going separately. In May and June, one could see Hardei personages arriving at the National Institutions Building time and time again, with many of the employees wondering what they were doing there. It was only later that they understood what exactly had happened. It turns out that "Aguda" had relented on appearing separately if it were promised solutions on religious issues once the state was established. Ben-Gurion had acceded to this and on Sunday, June 19, 1947, a
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