When Einstein tried to convince Indian PM Nehru to support Israel... but failed On 13 June 1947, Einstein wrote a four-page letter to Nehru, first praising India for having taken up the cause of abolishing untouchability, and saying the Jewish people were also victims of discrimination and persecution, with a pariah status. Appealing to Nehru, Einstein praised him as a “consistent champion of the forces of political and economic enlightenment”, and exhorted him to rule in favour of “the rights of an ancient people whose roots are in the East”. Einstein pleaded for “justice and equity”, adding that “long before the emergence of Hitler, I made the cause of Zionism mine, because through it, I saw a means of correcting a flagrant wrong”. Recognising Nehru’s dilemma, Einstein went on to highlight: “Though the Arab of Palestine has benefitted… economically, he wants exclusive national sovereignty, such as is enjoyed by the Arabs of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria . It is a legitimate and natural desire, and justice would seem to call for its satisfaction.” This satisfaction would be in the form of a Palestinian State. Post-World War 1, the Allies gave the Arabs 99% of Arab lands liberated from the Ottoman Empire, to meet Arab national aspirations, and five independent Arab states were created. One per cent was reserved for the Jews “in the land of their origin”, for the establishment of Israel. In Einstein’s words: “In the august scale of justice, which weighs need against need, there is no doubt as to whose is more heavy.” According to Einstein, the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised a homeland for the Jewish people, redressed the balance of justice and history. Einstein’s final appeal to Nehru was to brush aside “the rivalries of power politics and the egotism of petty nationalist appetites” and to support “the glorious renaissance which has begun in Palestine”