I AM READING A BOOK titled The Jews Should Keep Quiet1 with the sub-title Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and the Holocaust (right).
I will admit I have a strong bias against Roosevelt for what he did to Jews in Europe and Africa to avoid displeasing his nazi friends.
Were it not for Japan’s attack on 7 December 1941 — an attack Roosevelt allegedly knew was on the way — the U.S. likely would not have entered the war even as late as it did.
Medoff carefully documents his accusations with more than 55 (!) pages of citations and 12 index pages.
R. Wise was, in all respects, Roosevelt’s sycophant who used Roosevelt and much as Roosevelt used him.
Wise considered himself the leader of the Jews, if not in all the diaspora, then at least in the U.S., and for some time, he managed to parlay the relationship he thought he had with Roosevelt into a position of power. Meanwhile, Roosevelt was treating Wise as the “court Jew.”
Medoff documents how Roosevelt ignored the plight of Jews, even after the Vichy French (nazis and nazi sympathizers) were “officially” deposed by the Americans in North Africa — the Americans installed Vichy’s governor as their man in North Africa and, with Roosevelt’s understanding, allowed the Vichy discrimination laws to continue.
Roosevelt’s answer to any Jews who dared suggest he do something to aid the refugees in Europe — all refugees, but most were Jewish … — was that the “best way was to win the war.”
What was his excuse before December 7, 1941?
He feared his popularity would fall. As one wag suggested, Churchill’s sign was two fingers raised in a “V” for victory, while Roosevelt’s was a finger in the air testing which way the political wind was blowing.
To her credit, Eleanor Roosevelt showed more compassion for her fellow humans than her husband.
For his part, Wise, always Roosevelt’s toady and always trying to be The Leader of the Jews, used his power to insist Jews
* not to make waves
* not to seek support from non-Jews
* not to seek support from Republicans
even when he had substantial evidence of the nazi’s atrocities.
When others tried to rally Jews specifically and Americans in general, Wise worked hard to prevent any attacks on “his friend.” Besides, like Roosevelt before Pearl Harbor, Wise didn’t want to offend the nazis, then among America’s trading partners.
Likewise, Wise led U.S. Jews in opposition of European Jews finding refuge in the U.S. (Alaska was suggested, but Wise determined that was “too cold” for the Jews of Poland and northern Europe. The U.S. Virgin Islands also were suggested, but they were “too hot” and besides, a nazi spy might be in their midst and try to enter the continental U.S.; on that both Roosevelt and Wise agreed.)
Although a self-proclaimed Zionist, and although he did encourage the English to allow fuller immigration to Israel — then called Palestine — he never was forceful because the man whose respect he most wanted (Roosevelt) would not pressure the English.
For their part, the English were concerned that the Muslims would revolt and riot.
They did that anyway.
Haj Amin el Husseini and Hitler
Moreover, the English were too blind, or stupid, to realize that the Muslim’s religious and political leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el Husseini, worked for Hitler and the nazis and encouraged Muslims to fight the Allies and to kill infidels at every opportunity.4
Meanwhile, the Jews of the Yishuv (then Mandatory Palestine) were lining up to help the allies.5 The Jews had helped the English during “The Great war” with Vladimir Jabotinsky’s Jewish Legion (1915-1918). 6
Jabotinsky was one of the people high on Wise’s “hate list.” Although a self-proclaimed Zionist, his brand of Zionism was hardly the same as Jabotinsky’s.
Roosevelt wanted the Jews to be quiet, and he had Wise in his pocket to help assure that, even when Wise knew what was happening in Europe.
An aside on President Truman.
Truman did what he thought best for America.
* He ordered the bombing of the Japanese industrial cities of Nagasaki7 and Hiroshima.8
* He fired a general who forgot who was Commander in Chief.9
* Unlike presidents that came after him, Truman took responsibility for his actions and made the phrase “The buck stops here” famous.
Bottom Line: Any Jew who still thinks Roosevelt was a friend to Jews should read this book. Roosevelt was a friend only to himself.
Likewise, if anyone thinks that Stephen Wise was a great leader and concerned first and foremost with the Jewish people, this book will quickly disabuse the reader of that notion.
From this scrivener’s perspective, the book reinforces previously held opinions of Roosevelt and left me wondering how a Jew of Wise’s stature could be so accommodating to a man (Roosevelt) who Wise knew cared not fig for the Jews of Europe and North Africa.
Had Roosevelt lived, his representatives to the UN surely would have cast a NO vote on partition and the then-USSR likely would have voted likewise.
Honesty in blogging: I have two passports: one U.S. and one Israel.
Sources
1. The Jews Should Keep Quiet, Rafael Medoff, JPS, ISBN 978-0-8276-1470-30
2. UN Resolution 181: https://tinyurl.com/yd7hk6lc
3. Israel independence declared: https://tinyurl.com/yytaxq7g
4. Hitler & Grand Mufti: https://tinyurl.com/y57wmrcw
5. Jewish Brigade: https://tinyurl.com/j45egzp
6. Zion Mule Corps: https://tinyurl.com/ycvrf4dqhttps://tinyurl.com/ycvrf4dq
7. Nagasaki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasaki
8. Hiroshima: https://tinyurl.com/y69upyjv
9. MacArthur sacked: https://tinyurl.com/ycaajr3z
עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
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Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.
