There seems to be a sentiment amongst some that pre-holocaust Gedolim of Europe were somehow to blame for preventing the Jewish people from emigrating to Eretz Yisroel. An e-mail sent to Areivim expressed outrage at such an accusation.
“Some people seem to think that the Gedolim "SHOULD have had
Nevuah" and since they didn't, they "obviously" weren't really Gedolim. They think that the Gedolim, Rabbeim and Roshei yeshiva "should have" seen the Holocaust coming and "should have" told people to leave Europe en masse”
The writer considers such a view an insult to their memory and I agree. The only Navi in this regard was Zev Jabotinsky.
Despite some recent recent research indicating the contrary, I don't blame the Gedolim of that era for not urging their people to go en masse to Eretz Yisroel. It is absolutely not their fault in any way. Their sole interest was the welfare of Klal Yisroel. They did the best they could with the information they had. They could not have foreseen what was about to happen. Had they been able to foresee that, there would probably be a lot more Jews around today and I would have been able to know some of my grandparents, aunts, and uncles (...and a brother and twin sisters). Of course I wouldn't have been born either, but that's a topic of a whole other discussion.
But the fact that there was such a "Navi" in the person of Zev Jabotinsky shows that there were enough warning signs around for those with the right antennae to pick them up. Unfortunately his Nevuah didn't help too much anyway.
