Einstein Israel
- Thread starter Osk
- Start date
If I'm not mistaken, the Israeli President, like the president in many other countries with a parliamentary system of government, serves as the ceremonial head of state (in the same fashion as the monarch in a constitutional monarchy).
He was also in poor health by 1952.
An interesting archived article on the offer:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817454,00.html
However, while he may not have been an active Zionist, he didn have some empathy with the young state of Israel. Certainly he and Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, were close personal friends, and he bequeathed his papers to Hebrew University - on whose board of governors he served.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein's_political_views#Zionism
Perhaps if Einstein was in better health and Weizmann made the request personally to take the role on after his death?
Another POD could revolve around the founding of Brandeis University. Einstein was heavily involved with the early stages and the school was initially to be called Einstein University. However, Einstein clashed with other founders and agreed with many choices, including the selection of Abraham Sachar as the first dean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandeis_University#Einstein_incident
Were Brandeis University to become Einstein University and his public involvement with the school in its first few years thorough, there are a number of interesting effects. The school - which also attracted Eleanor Roosevelt and Leonard Bernstein to its staff in its first decade - would be even more prestigious earlier, but also perhaps even more closely aligned with the academic Left.
However, perhaps Einstein's closer involvement with institutional Jewishness (and early Brandeis was very much institutionally Jewish) could have led him into a frame of mind to take the offer to be Israeli president.
Effects? This may ironically nip the Israeli nuclear program in the bud, given Einstein's views. It may also raise Israel's political prestige in the community of nations. Finally it may keep the USSR courting Israel longer: I'm not certain they had firmly picked a horse in the Middle East wars until Nasser came to power in 1954.
An interesting archived article on the offer:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817454,00.html
However, while he may not have been an active Zionist, he didn have some empathy with the young state of Israel. Certainly he and Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, were close personal friends, and he bequeathed his papers to Hebrew University - on whose board of governors he served.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein's_political_views#Zionism
Perhaps if Einstein was in better health and Weizmann made the request personally to take the role on after his death?
Another POD could revolve around the founding of Brandeis University. Einstein was heavily involved with the early stages and the school was initially to be called Einstein University. However, Einstein clashed with other founders and agreed with many choices, including the selection of Abraham Sachar as the first dean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandeis_University#Einstein_incident
Were Brandeis University to become Einstein University and his public involvement with the school in its first few years thorough, there are a number of interesting effects. The school - which also attracted Eleanor Roosevelt and Leonard Bernstein to its staff in its first decade - would be even more prestigious earlier, but also perhaps even more closely aligned with the academic Left.
However, perhaps Einstein's closer involvement with institutional Jewishness (and early Brandeis was very much institutionally Jewish) could have led him into a frame of mind to take the offer to be Israeli president.
Effects? This may ironically nip the Israeli nuclear program in the bud, given Einstein's views. It may also raise Israel's political prestige in the community of nations. Finally it may keep the USSR courting Israel longer: I'm not certain they had firmly picked a horse in the Middle East wars until Nasser came to power in 1954.
So they serve no real purpose? In that case, parliamentary republics should just eliminate the position in interest of efficiency. Monarchies, at least those have centuries of tradition behind them, and serve as a symbol of unity.
Despite not being a terribly powerful figure, the Israeli president does serve several functions. Most importantly, he is head of state, whereas the Prime Minister is head of government. Like most heads of state in a parliamentary democracy, he effectively acts like a (term-limited, elected) monarch. he or she is expected to remain apolitical, to appoint certain public officials, etc...
It does seem unlikely, but its still interesting to think about.
Maybe he would use the office as a platform to promote the causes he valued? Disarmament, socialism, etc etc. I don't know how he would handle the Palestinian issue, but I suspect it would be different than OTL.
And maybe this leads to far cooler relations between Israel and the US. IIRC the intelligence services in the US considered Einstein a security risk, so depending on how threateningly he's viewed you could see a coup or covert support to the Arab nations in the next Arab/Israeli war.
Maybe he would use the office as a platform to promote the causes he valued? Disarmament, socialism, etc etc. I don't know how he would handle the Palestinian issue, but I suspect it would be different than OTL.
And maybe this leads to far cooler relations between Israel and the US. IIRC the intelligence services in the US considered Einstein a security risk, so depending on how threateningly he's viewed you could see a coup or covert support to the Arab nations in the next Arab/Israeli war.
