1930 Freud was asked, as a distinguished Jew, to contribute to a petition condemning Arab riots of 1929, in which over a hundred Jewish settlers were killed

I cannot do as you wish

Whoever wants to influence the masses must give them something rousing and inflammatory and my sober judgement of Zionism does not permit this

I do not think that Palestine could ever become a Jewish state, nor that the Christian and Islamic worlds would ever be prepared to have their holy places under Jewish care

It would have seemed more sensible to me to establish a Jewish homeland on a less historically-burdened land

But I know that such a rational viewpoint would never have gained the enthusiasm of the masses and the financial support of the wealthy

concede with sorrow that the baseless fanaticism of our people is in part to be blamed for the awakening of Arab distrust

Now judge for yourself

am the right person to come forward as the solace of a people deluded by unjustified hope