Interesting Quote from Ben Gurion

In 1936, Ben Gurion was questioned by the Peel Commission about the Zionist plan. They said that after so long in exile, there was no longer a unified Jewish people since Jews had thoroughly mixed with local cultures and formed many sub-groups. His response:

” Three hundred years ago, a ship called the Mayflower set sail to the New World. In it were Englishmen unhappy with English society and government, who sought an uninhabited coast to settle and establish a new world. They landed in America, and were among the first pioneers and builders of that land.

‘This was a great event in the history of England and America. But I would like to know: Is there a single Englishman who knows the exact date and hour of the Mayflower’s launch? How much do American children — or grownups — know about this historic trip? Do they know how many people were in the boat? Their names? What they wore? What they ate? Their path of travel? What happened to them on the way? Where they landed?

‘More than 3,300 years before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Any Jewish child, whether in America or Russia, Yemen or Germany, knows that his forefathers left Egypt at dawn on the 15th of Nisan. What did they wear? Their belts were tied, and their staffs were in their hands. They ate matzot, and arrived at the Red Sea after seven days.

‘He knows the path of their journey through the desert and the events of those forty years in the desert. They ate manna and slav birds and drank from Miriam’s well. They arrived in Jordan facing Jericho. The child can even quote the family names from the Torah.

‘Jews worldwide still eat matzah for seven days from the 15th of Nisan. They retell the story of the Exodus, concluding with the fervent wish, “Next Year in Jerusalem.” This is the nature of the Jews.”