RSS
A Choice for Each of Us: Purim, FDR, and Henry Morgenthau’s ‘Esther’ Moment
Franklin D. Roosevelt and others standing under big guns on the cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35), during a fleet review off New York City, May 31, 1934. Henry Morgenthau is seated second from the right. Photo: Wiki Commons.
On the holiday of Purim, Jews worldwide celebrate the salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian empire. In the face of Haman’s imminent genocidal decree upon the Jewish People, Mordechai directed his niece, Queen Esther, to approach the King and beseech him to save her people. Esther was understandably reluctant because she could be killed immediately for entering the king’s chamber without being summoned.
In the face of her demurral, Mordechai responded with strong words, telling her, “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps it is precisely for this opportunity that you became queen” (Esther 4:14).
Understanding that this was the reason she had ascended to royalty and influence, Queen Esther made an immediate about-face. Rising to the occasion, she instructed Mordechai to tell all Jewish residents of Shushan to fast and pray for three days and nights and upon the conclusion of the three days, she would approach the king uninvited. “And if I am to perish, I shall perish…” (4:16)
Her strategy worked, Haman and his 10 sons were hung, and the Jewish people were saved by G0d.
Fast forward two millennia, and another Jewish leader named Henry Morgenthau Jr. (1891–1967) would experience his Queen Esther Moment when the Jewish people were being threatened with annihilation. He was born in New York City to a prominent family of German Jewish descent. His father, Henry Morgenthau Sr., was a successful real estate investor and diplomat, and had served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the presidential administration of Woodrow Wilson.
Henry Morgenthau Jr. served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1934, until July 23, 1945. Morgenthau stabilized the US dollar during the Great Depression, helped finance the “New Deal,” prepared the US economy for war, and later funded the war effort by selling war bonds.
He was the only Jewish person to serve as a cabinet member during Roosevelt’s administration. He was very devoted and loyal to Roosevelt, despite the President’s failure to take concrete actions to save European Jewry from the Holocaust or allow Jews to save themselves by immigrating to the United States.
In 1943, several months after the US State Department confirmed Nazi Germany’s mission to annihilate all the Jews of Europe, Morgenthau became directly involved in the rescue of the Jews in Europe.
The catalyst for Morgenthau’s new-found involvement was the advocacy of two Jewish groups: The Vaad Hatzalah (The Rescue Committee), led by America’s leading Orthodox rabbis, and the “Emergency Committee for the Rescue of European Jewry” led by Hillel Kook.
In mid-1943, the heads of Vaad Hatzlalah met with Morgenthau for the first time. Visibly moved by the words of two great rabbis and a lay leader, Morgenthau called Secretary of State Cordell Hull and demanded a joint meeting with the President concerning the Nazi murder of the Jews in Europe. When Hull politely refused, Morgenthau shocked him by responding, “If I do not get the meeting, my resignation will be on Mr. Roosevelt’s desk in the morning.” Morgenthau got his meeting with Roosevelt, and although it did not create immediate changes in US policy, it paved the way for creating the War Refugee Board a few months later.
The Bergson Group was led by Hillel Kook, one of the heads of Irgun in America and nephew of the First Chief Rabbi of Mandatory Palestine, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. One of the Committee’s more well-known actions was a protest Kook organized, known as the “Rabbis’ March.” The protest took place in Washington, D.C., on October 6, 1943, three days before Yom Kippur. The group of over 400 rabbis marched to the United States Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and White House in Washington, D.C. The March’s success was limited by the actions of some of FDR’s Jewish friends (who were more concerned about FDR and less concerned for their fellow Jews in Europe), including Reform leader Stephen Wise.
A few months later, on January 13, 1944. Treasury staff members John Pehle, Randolph Paul, Ansel Luxford, and Josiah DuBois presented Morgenthau with an 18-page memorandum entitled “Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of Jews.” After reading it, Morgenthau’s immediate response was, “I am physically ill.”
As a result, three days later, on January 16, 1944, Morgenthau personally visited the White House and met with President Roosevelt. The following week, the president issued an executive order establishing the War Refugee Board on January 22, 1944.
Through the efforts of the War Refugee Board, steps were finally taken to save Jews in Europe. Refugee camps were prepared in North Africa, and safe havens were arranged in Mandatory Palestine, Switzerland, and Sweden. The War Refugee Board also lobbied Roosevelt to publicly condemn the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis, which he did on March 24, 1944.
By attracting international attention to the desperate plight of Hungarian Jewry, the War Refugee Board contributed to the cessation of deportations of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. The Board also sent Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and others to protect the Jews of Budapest. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee funded Wallenberg’s rescue work through the War Refugee Board.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of Jews rescued by the War Refugee Board. Professor David Wyman (1929-2018), a noted Holocaust historian, credited the War Refugee Board with playing a crucial role in saving as many as 200,000 Jews and 20,000 non-Jews. At the end of the war, considering reports of ill-treatment of the Jews in the DP camps, Morgenthau and the War Refugee Board also convinced President Truman to send an American envoy, lawyer Earl Harrison, to examine the situation personally, and following his trip, the situation in the DP camps improved.
Yet, there was a time during the war when even Morgenthau hesitated. Shortly before Purim, in February 1945, Irving Bunim arranged for an urgent meeting with Morgenthau and was accompanied by Rabbi Aharon Kotler and Rabbi Avrohom Kalmanowitz, both of whom had escaped Europe and were using any means at their disposal to try to save the European Jews.
They came with a desperate request. The “Musy Negotiations” were underway, which involved a payment of close to a million dollars to the Germans in exchange for releasing Jews from concentration camps and sending them to Switzerland. The Vaad Hatzalah had the astronomical sum pledged to them by another Jewish organization. Yet, that organization insisted the Vaad receive official US government approval to transfer the funds through American agents in Switzerland. The Vaad Hatzalah appealed to Morgenthau to grant them official permission. Morgenthau responded that American foreign policy was not to pay ransom to the enemy: “Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute.”
Rabbi Kotler did not speak English, and Secretary Morgenthau did not understand Yiddish, so Bunim had been serving as their translator. However, Morgenthau’s tone was clear to Rabbi Kotler, even before Bunim said a word. The answer was no. Unable to hold back his emotions, Rabbi Kotler looked at Morgenthau with piercing blue eyes. With a voice shaking, he pointed at the Secretary of Treasury and said in Yiddish, “Bunim, tell him that if he cannot help rescue his fellow Jews at this time, then he is worth nothing, and his position is worth nothing! One single Jewish life is worth more than all the positions in Washington!”
After a few awkward moments, Bunim began translating, somewhat softening the Rabbi’s message as he spoke. Rabbi Kotler realized his words were not being conveyed accurately and cried in Yiddish, “Nein, nein Bunim, zugt em vus ich hub gizugt! No! Tell him exactly what I said!” Bunim realized that this was not a time for social niceties.
“Sir … Rabbi Kotler feels that because you are afraid of losing your prominent position in the government, you may be unwilling to help us and your fellow Jewish brothers and sisters. He wants you to know that one Jewish life is worth more than any office.”
Hearing this, Morgenthau turned white and placed his head on his desk, covering his face in his hands.
Finally, Morgenthau raised his head and cried, trembling with emotion, “Tell the Rabbi that I am a Jew. Tell him I’m willing to give up my life — not just my position — for my people.” In the face of Rabbi Kotler’s challenge and words of truth, Morgenthau recognized his Queen Esther Moment. He rose to the occasion and enabled the Vaad Hatzalah to continue the negotiations, directly bringing about the release of 2,000 Jewish women from Ravensbruck. His actions live on eternally, in the lives he saved and the example he set.
We each have our own Queen Esther Moments. A time when we face a choice as to whether we will stand up for the Jewish people and Jewish values. It might be at work, on a college campus, or social media, on onstage at the Oscars. If you are able to stand up and do something, will you? Will you educate yourself and others on Jewish values and Israel’s right to defend itself? Will you proudly wear a Jewish symbol or kippah? Will you write to encourage elected officials and community leaders to support Israel and the Jewish people?
And, if you are like Morgenthau, someone in a position with real influence, will you act as he did, knowing there are values more important than your job or ephemeral popularity?
When your Queen Esther moment comes, what will you choose?
Rabbi Menachem Levine is the CEO of JDBY-YTT, the largest Jewish school in the Midwest. He served as Rabbi of Congregation Am Echad in San Jose, CA from 2007 – 2020. He is a popular speaker and has written for numerous publications. Rabbi Levine’s personal website is https://thinktorah.org. A version of this article was originally published by Aish.
The post A Choice for Each of Us: Purim, FDR, and Henry Morgenthau’s ‘Esther’ Moment first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US Sens. Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham Unveil New Resolution Demanding Iran ‘Dismantle’ Nuclear Program
US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
US Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (AK) and Lindsey Graham (SC) on Thursday unveiled a new resolution demanding Iran completely “dismantle” its nuclear program.
The resolution was introduced as the Trump administration continued to engage in talks with Iran to negotiate a deal to curb the latter’s nuclear activity, which Western countries believe is ultimately geared to build nuclear weapons. Iran has claimed its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes.
“Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon; that’s off the table,” Graham said during a press conference on Thursday.
The resolution calls on the White House to pursue the “complete dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, cautioning that Tehran would use a nuclear warhead to “carry out one of the most extreme religious ideas on the planet” — a reference to the Islamist ideology of Iran’s rulers.
The senators called on their colleagues in Congress to support the resolution.
Graham warned that if Iran, a predominately Shi’ite country under its current theocratic system, ever acquired a nuclear weapon, then the Sunni Arab countries of the Middle East would then attempt to obtain one themselves, sparking “a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.” Graham also cautioned that Iran would use a nuclear weapon as an “insurance policy” and a tool to destroy its enemies, including Israel. The senator demanded that Iran completely scrap its nuclear program, arguing that anything short of “complete dismantlement” would be “non-negotiable.”
“The ayatollah [Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei,] and his henchmen are virtual religious Nazis,” Graham said. “They openly talk about destroying the state of Israel. They write it on the side of their missiles, and I believe them.”
Graham claimed that Iran has likely enriched enough uranium to produce at least six nuclear weapons.
The South Carolina senator predicted that Iran would also use nuclear bombs to “take over” Muslim holy sites and push the United States out of the Middle East.
“A nuclear Iran makes for a far more dangerous world,” Cotton said.
Cotton argued that Iran would use the security provided by a nuclear weapon to aggressively advance its terrorism campaigns throughout the globe. The senator cited several terror attacks tied to Iran, including the assassination attempt against US President Donald Trump last year. Cotton also cited Iran’s continued operation of proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis — all internationally designated terrorist organizations backed by Tehran.
The Arkansas senator added that an Iranian nuclear weapon would present “an existential threat to our good friend Israel,” which Iran’s leaders regularly threaten to destroy.
Israel has been among the most vocal proponents of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arguing that the US should pursue a “Libyan option” to eliminate the possibility of Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon by overseeing the destruction of Iran’s nuclear installations and the dismantling of equipment.
Both Graham and Cotton stated that they would be supportive of Iran obtaining a true civilian nuclear energy program. However, the senators argued that allowing Iran to enrich uranium or maintain centrifuges itself would inevitably lead to Tehran building a nuclear weapon.
As the US continues to negotiate a potential nuclear deal with Iran, the Trump administration has drawn criticism from some traditional allies who fear the White House could make too many concessions to Tehran. Critics have argued that elements of Trump’s negotiations with Iran mirror parts of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the 2015 deal which placed temporary restrictions on ‘nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of major international sanctions.
The 2015 deal, which the Obama administration negotiated with Iran and other world powers, allowed Iran to enrich significant quantities of uranium to low levels of purity and stockpile them. It did not directly address the regime’s ballistic missile program but included an eight-year restriction on Iranian nuclear-capable ballistic missile activities. Trump withdrew the US from the accord during his first presidential term in 2018, arguing it was too weak and would undermine American interests.
The White House has also received scrutiny from other Republicans in Congress. In a comment posted on X/Twitter, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), for example, lamented, “Anyone urging Trump to enter into another Obama Iran deal is giving the president terrible advice.” Urging the White House to reverse course, Cruz added that Trump “is entirely correct when he says Iran will NEVER be allowed to have nukes. His team should be 100% unified behind that.”
Trump has threatened military strikes, additional sanctions, and tariffs if an agreement is not reached to curb Iran’s nuclear activities. However, when asked by a reporter on Wednesday whether his administration would allow Iran to maintain an enrichment program as long as it doesn’t enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, Trump said his team had not decided. “We haven’t made that decision yet,” Trump said in the White House. “We will, but we haven’t made that decision.”
Western countries believe Iran’s nuclear program is ultimately meant to build nuclear weapons. However, Iran has claimed that its program is for civilian energy purposes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, reported last year that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to close to weapons grade at some of its nuclear facilities.
The UK, France, and Germany said in a statement at the time that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Iran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
The post US Sens. Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham Unveil New Resolution Demanding Iran ‘Dismantle’ Nuclear Program first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Prevost Surprises as First US Pope, Takes Name Leo XIV
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, May 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Cardinal Robert Prevost, a long-time missionary in Latin America, was elected as the surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, becoming the first US pope and taking the name Leo XIV.
Pope Leo appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after white smoke billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, signifying the 133 cardinal electors had chosen him as a successor to Francis, who died last month.
“Peace be with you all,” he told the cheering crowd, speaking in fluent Italian. He also spoke in Spanish during his brief address but did not say anything in English.
Prevost, 69 and originally from Chicago, has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and has dual Peruvian nationality. He became a cardinal only in 2023. He has given few media interviews and is known to have a shy personality.
President Donald Trump swiftly congratulated him on becoming the first US pope. “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
However, the new pope has a history of criticizing Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s policies, according to posts on the X account of Robert Prevost.
Massimo Faggioli, an Italian academic who has followed the papacy closely, suggested the tenor of the Trump presidency might have influenced the cardinals to choose a pope from the US, who could directly rebut the president.
“The international upheaval of the rhetoric of the Trump presidency, paradoxically, made possible the impossible,” said Faggioli, a professor at Villanova University in the US.
“Trump has broken many taboos, the conclave now has done the same — in a very different key.”
PRAISE FROM PERU
The appointment was welcomed by the Peruvian president Dina Boluarte.
“His closeness to those most in need left an indelible mark on the hearts of Peru,” her office said in a post on X.
Prevost becomes the 267th Catholic pope following the death of Francis, who was the first from Latin America and who ruled for 12 years.
Francis had widely sought to open the staid institution up to the modern world, enacting a range of reforms and allowing debate on divisive issues such as women’s ordination and better inclusion of LGBT Catholics.
Leo thanked Francis in his speech and repeated his predecessor’s call for a Church that is engaged with the modern world and “is always looking for peace, charity and being close to people, especially those who are suffering.”
He had not been seen as a frontrunner and there was a brief moment of uncertainty when his name was announced to the packed St. Peter’s Square, before people started to clap and cheer.
Unlike Francis, who spurned much of the trappings of the papacy from the day he was elected in 2013, Prevost wore a traditional red papal garment over his white cassock as he first appeared as Leo XIV.
SNAP, a US-based advocacy group for victims of clerical sex abuse, expressed “grave concern” about his election, renewing accusations that Prevost failed to take action against suspected predatory priests in the past in Chicago and in Peru.
“You can end the abuse crisis — the only question is, will you?” it said in a statement addressed to the new pope.
In an interview with the Vatican News website in 2023, Prevost said the Church must be transparent and honest in dealing with abuse allegations.
CHICAGO CELEBRATES
A crowd of clergy and staff members at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union erupted in a joyful cheer as Pope Leo walked out onto the Vatican balcony, some four decades after he graduated from the South Side school.
It was an “explosion of excitement and cheers that went up in the room … many of us were just simply incredulous and just couldn’t even find words to express our delight, our pride,” said Sister Barbara Reid, president of the theology school.
Pope Leo graduated from the school in 1982 with a master’s degree. Reid called Leo intellectually brilliant, saying he has an extraordinarily compassionate heart.
“It’s an unusual blend that makes him a leader who can think critically, but listens to the cries of the poorest, and always has in mind those who are most needy,” she said.
THE NAME LEO
The last pope to take the name Leo led the Church from 1878-1903. Leo XIII was known for his devoted focus to social justice issues, and is often credited with laying the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching.
Prevost has attracted interest from his peers because of his quiet style and support for Francis, especially his commitment to social justice issues.
Prevost served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, from 2015 to 2023.
Francis brought him to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops across the globe, meaning he has had a hand in selecting many of the world’s bishops.
The post Prevost Surprises as First US Pope, Takes Name Leo XIV first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Warns of ‘Severe Consequences’ for Houthis, Vows to Defend Itself After US Cuts Deal With Terror Group
Smoke rises in the sky following US-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Adel Al Khader
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday warned that the Houthis would “suffer severe consequences” if the Yemeni terrorist group continued to attack Israel, emphasizing the Jewish state’s capability to defend itself following US President Donald Trump’s unexpected deal with the Iran-backed rebel militia.
“Israel must be capable of defending itself against any threat or enemy,” Katz wrote in a post on X. “This has been the case throughout many challenges in the past and will remain true in the future.”
“I also warn the Iranian leaders who finance, arm, and operate the Houthi terrorist organization: the balance of power has shifted, and the Axis of Evil has collapsed,” the top Israeli defense official added. “What we did to Hezbollah in Beirut, to Hamas in Gaza, to Assad in Damascus, and to the Houthis in Yemen, we will also do to you in Tehran.”
Katz continued, “We will not allow anyone to harm Israel; and those who do will suffer severe consequences.”
On Sunday, the Houthis, an internationally designated terrorist group, declared they would impose a “comprehensive” aerial blockade on Israel, targeting the country’s airports in retaliation for the Israeli military’s expanded operations in Gaza.
Claiming solidarity with Palestinians in the war-torn enclave, the Iran-backed group took responsibility for a missile strike near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, marking the latest in a series of attacks.
While Israel’s missile defense systems have intercepted most strikes from Yemen, Sunday’s missile was the first in a series launched since March to bypass the country’s defense capabilities, following a drone strike on Tel Aviv last year.
Alongside Hezbollah and Hamas, Houthi rebels are a key part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Yemeni terrorist group, reaffirming that the Jewish state will defend itself against any threat.
“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media. “If others join us — our American friends — all the better. If they don’t, we will still defend ourselves on our own.”
In response to the Houthis’ latest attack, Israeli forces launched major strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and the international airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, both facilities crucial to the Iran-backed terrorist group’s ability to operate.
The strikes came as Houthi officials revealed that their agreement with Washington to cease targeting US maritime activity in the Red Sea did not include any commitment to stop attacking Israel or ships linked to the Jewish state.
لقطات جديدة للغارات الجوية الإسرائيلية التي أصابت مطار صنعاء الدولي في اليمن. pic.twitter.com/DlzAqg5xES
— الأحداث العالمية (@NewsNow4USA) May 6, 2025
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, the Houthis — whose slogan is “death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam” — have targeted over 100 merchant vessels in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, causing a massive disruption of global trade.
During an Oval Office appearance on Tuesday, Trump announced that the US would halt airstrikes on the Yemeni terrorist group after it agreed to stop attacking American ships — an agreement that ended weeks of escalating tensions with the Iran-backed group and, according to US and Israeli officials, was made without prior notice to Jerusalem.
Since launching its current operation in Yemen, known as Operation Rough Rider, on March 15, the US military says it has struck over 1,000 targets, killing hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous group leaders.
After Trump announced the deal with the Iran-backed terrorist group, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei praised “the end of the US aggression” on Yemen and thanked Oman for its efforts in mediating the ceasefire agreement.
The post Israel Warns of ‘Severe Consequences’ for Houthis, Vows to Defend Itself After US Cuts Deal With Terror Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.