In January 1940, Agudat Yisrael in Palestine agreed to participate in the Yishuv’s recently announced emergency tax, which the Zionist National Council had imposed on all Jews under its auspices in response to the severe hardships of World War II and the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.1 Agudah’s support for the emergency measure was an important step toward rapprochement with the Zionist factions, and, as such, was bound to spark controversy in Orthodox circles.2 Some of these tensions were articulated in an article published on January 11 by the Agudah organ Kol Yisrael that grappled with the agreement and its implications. Overall, the newspaper welcomed the deal. Agudists, the author “Samuel S.” argued, had wrangled with Zionist entities for quite a while, but by now, Orthodox frameworks were strong enough and non-Zionist communities were sufficiently solidified to allow for this kind of cooperation. Yet even while praising the agreement, he felt compelled to clarify its qualitative difference to cooperation with religious Zionists. “Many ask,” he noted, “why it is easier for Agudah to cooperate with the secularists and their institutions than with the leaders of Mizrahi. These naive inquirers do not appreciate the fine but prominent distinction that exists between the two modes of cooperation. They do not understand that it is easy to speak openly with an adversary whose tendencies and aims one clearly knows. … It is very hard, on the other hand, to meet someone who seems like a friend, but is, in fact, a treacherous opponent and causes one to fail at every step.”3