The Fighting Rabbis: Jewish Military Chaplains and American History

3. Fighting Anti-Semitism

26 3 Fighting Anti-Semitism In the five decades that bridged the Civil War and the First World War, the attention and efforts of the Jewish community toward their coreligionists in the military expanded in a dramatic fashion. A number of reasons explain this heightened attention: an increase of anti-Semitism in America, which included the charge that Jews were unpatriotic and did not serve in the armed forces; the entrance into the military of a significant number of newly arriving immigrants, whose spiritual needs had to be met; and the increasing growth of Jewish communal organizations. Following the Civil War, anti-Semitism in America became a more significant element in contemporary society. In June 1877, Joseph Seligman , a prominent Jewish American, and his family were denied admission into the Grand Hotel in Saratoga, New York. The hotel’s owner, Judge Henry Hilton, left no doubt about his intentions: ‘‘Judge Hilton . . . has given instructions that no Israelites shall be permitted in the future to stop at this hotel.’’1 While this incident did not receive universal approval, some accepted it as a precedent to be emulated. Austin Corbin, developer of Coney Island as a resort area, publicly supported Hilton’s stance: ‘‘We do not like Jews as a class . . . they make themselves offensive to the kind of people who principally patronize our road and hotel.’’2 Others suffered from this type of intolerance as well. In 1887, the anti-Catholic organization, the American Protective Association, came into existence. The goals of this group were direct and crass: ‘‘Never vote for a Catholic, never go out on strike with one, or hire a Catholic when a Protestant was available.’’3 The Jewish community did not have a clear consensus as to the origin of this anti-Semitism. Many Jews believed that it represented a Fighting Anti-Semitism | 27 continuation of the historic, stereotypical attitudes found in Europe. Others felt that Jewish success in America and acceptance into the middle class had created an environment of envy that brought about the prejudicial charges.4 Sydney Ahlstrom suggests that Jews took on the role of scapegoats for a variety of society’s ills: ‘‘City dwellers, peddlers, bankers, non-Protestants. . . . What is important after the 1880’s is that the Jews are explicitly included in anti-foreign attacks, while previously this had rarely been the case.’’5 The extent of the discrimination and its acceptance can be illustrated by the advertisements of some hotels and escorts: ‘‘No dogs. No Jews. No consumptives .’’6 This anti-Semitism took on a new form when the patriotism of Jews became an issue. In December 1891, a letter to the editor of the North American Review alleged two serious charges against American Jews: I had served in the field for about 18 months . . . and was quite familiar with several regiments. . . . I cannot remember meeting one Jew in uniform or hearing of any Jewish soldier. . . . I learned of no place where they stood shoulder to shoulder, except in General Sherman’s department , and he promptly ordered them out of it for speculating in cotton and carrying information to the Confederates.7 This characterization of nonpatriotism was echoed by Mark Twain in an essay in which he stated that the Jew ‘‘is charged with a disinclination patriotically to stand by the flag as a soldier. By his make and his ways he is substantially a foreigner and even the angels dislike foreigners .’’8 While in later years Twain retracted this statement, his earlier writings gave this prejudice wide acceptability. Such biased comments received some credibility from academic sources. In 1891 Goldwin Smith, an historian at Cornell University, averred that Jews functioned as a closed group within American society . Jewish tribalism, he claimed, was set forth in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the Jewish Law Codes (Talmud). This tribalism prevented Jews from being patriotic to the countries in which they lived. Smith also wrote that Jews believed themselves to be a superior people whose ultimate goal included the domination of the world’s 28 | Fighting Anti-Semitism economy.9 Smith’s views meshed with contemporary racist and nativist theories that classified new immigrants as inferior to those who had come earlier to America. He further asserted that Jews were incapable of being patriotic, as indicated by their willingness to constantly change countries rather than show allegiance to any particular one.10 The general response by...