Having prepared this written response in advance, Einstein presented it to Goitein immediately upon receiving him. Goitein quipped: “I have been a lawyer all my life and I have never received a rebuttal before I have even started my case.”
Born in England, Goitein (1901-1961) settled in Eretz Yisrael in 1924 and served as editor of the Palestine Bulletin, an English daily published by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He practiced law for a few years before serving as Israel’s consul general (1949) and minister (1950) in South Africa; as minister plenipotentiary to the United States (1951-1953); and, upon his return to Israel, as a justice of Israel’s Supreme Court.
Einstein later explained to a Jerusalem newspaper that he did not want to face situations where he might have to back a government decision that could create a conflict with his conscience. As he wrote to his stepdaughter Margo: “I would have had to tell the Israeli people things they would not like to hear.”
It’s interesting to note that on November 18, 1952, Ben-Gurion’s office issued a formal denial of ever having offered Israel’s presidency to Einstein. While that may or may not have been true at the time – and there is overwhelming evidence that Ben-Gurion fibbed – Abba Eban’s letter followed a mere four days later; Einstein declined the appointment; Yitzhak Ben-Zvi became Israel’s second president on December 16, 1952; and the rest, as they say, is (documented) history.
