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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.
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Iran Rejects US Nuclear Proposal, Says ‘Counteroffer’ Coming as Talks Stall Over Uranium Enrichment, Sanctions
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran has denounced the latest nuclear proposal from the United States as “unprofessional and untechnical,” reaffirming the country’s right to enrich uranium and announcing plans to present a counteroffer in the coming days.
“After receiving the American proposal regarding the Iranian nuclear program, we are now preparing a counteroffer,” Ali Shamkhnai, political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an interview on Wednesday.
Shamkhani criticized the White House draft proposal as “not well thought out,” emphasizing its alleged failure to address sanction relief — a key demand for Tehran under any deal with Washington.
“There is no mention whatsoever of lifting sanctions in the latest American proposal, even though the issue of sanctions is a fundamental matter for Iran,” Shamkhnai said.
The Iranian official also warned that Tehran will not allow the US to dismantle its “peaceful nuclear program” or force uranium enrichment down to zero.
“Iran will never relinquish its natural rights,” Shamkhani said.
Washington’s draft proposal for a new nuclear deal was delivered by Omani officials — who have been mediating negotiations between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff — during last month’s talks in Rome.
On Wednesday, Khamenei dismissed such an offer, saying it “contradicts our nation’s belief in self-reliance” and runs counter to Iran’s key objectives.
“The proposal that the Americans have presented is 100 percent against our interests,” the Iranian leader said during a televised speech.
“The rude and arrogant leaders of America repeatedly demand that we should not have a nuclear program. Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?” Khamenei continued.
After five rounds of talks, diplomatic efforts have yet to yield results as both adversaries clash over Iran’s demand to maintain its domestic uranium enrichment program — a condition the White House has firmly rejected.
In April, Tehran and Washington held their first official nuclear negotiation since the US withdrew from a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that had imposed temporary limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief.
Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has sought to curtail Tehran’s potential to develop a nuclear weapon that could spark a regional arms race and pose a threat to Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran seeks to have Western sanctions on its oil-dependent economy lifted, while maintaining its nuclear enrichment program — which the country insists is solely for civilian purposes.
As part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran — which aims to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon — Washington has been targeting Tehran’s oil industry with mounting sanctions.
Amid the ongoing diplomatic deadlock, Israel has declared it will never allow the Islamist regime to acquire nuclear weapons, as the country views Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to uphold any agreement that prevents Tehran from enriching uranium.
“But in any case, Israel maintains the right to defend itself from a regime that is threatening to annihilate it,” Netanyahu said in a press conference last month, following reports that Jerusalem could strike Iranian nuclear sites if ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran fail.
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Day After Colorado Attack, Founder of Anti-Israel Group Chides Activists Who Are Insufficiently ‘Pro-Resistance’
Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of WithinOurLifetime (WOL), leading a pro-Hamas demonstration in New York City on Aug. 14, 2024. Photo: Michael Nigro via Reuters Connect
Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of the radical anti-Israel organization Within Our Lifetime, chastised those within the pro-Palestinian movement who only support “resistance” in the abstract but not in practice following Sunday’s antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado.
“A lot of people who call themselves anti-Zionist or pro-resistance don’t actually understand what resistance is,” Kiswani posted on X/Twitter on Monday. “They support it in theory, but when it shows up in practice, they hesitate, distance themselves, or shift the conversation entirely.”
She continued, “And it makes it even harder for those of us who are principled to take public stances. We’re already marginalized, already painted as extreme or dangerous and that isolation only deepens when others in the movement won’t stand firm when it counts.”
Kiswani’s comments came the day after a man threw Molotov cocktails at a Boulder gathering where participants were rallying in support of the Israeli hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza — which resulted in 15 injuries, including some critically, in what US authorities called a targeted terrorist attack. Her tweets also came less than two weeks after a gunman murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, while they were leaving an at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee. In both attacks, the perpetrator yelled “Free Palestine” as they targeted innocent civilians, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
After Kiswani’s social media posts sparked some backlash among pro-Israel users on X, she provided limited pushback on the idea that it was an expression of support for the prior day’s attack in Colorado.
“Zionists are freaking out in the QTs about this, insisting it’s about Colorado,” she wrote. “Newsflash: the world doesn’t revolve around you. Resistance hasn’t stopped in Gaza, look at what just happened in Jabalia [where three IDF soldiers were killed] for instance. The perpetual victimhood is getting old.”
However, Kiswani did not say her comment had no connection to the attack in Colorado, and she did not say that she opposed the firebombing.
Kiswani and her group, Within Our Lifetime (WOL), have been at the forefront of anti-Israel and pro-Hamas activism since Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a massacre that started the war in Gaza.
On Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the biggest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, WOL organized a protest to celebrate the prior day’s attack, which it described as an effort to “defend the heroic Palestinian resistance.” Kiswani notably refused to condemn Hamas and the Oct. 7 massacre following the atrocities.
Then, in Apil 2024, Kiswani refused to condemn the chant “Death to America” and organized a mass demonstration to block the “arteries of capitalism” by staging a blockade of commercial shipping ports across the world in protest of Western support for the Jewish state. That same month, she was banned from Columbia University’s campus in New York City after leading chants calling for an “intifada,” or violent uprising.
The following month, Kiswani led a demonstration in Brooklyn, New York in which she lambasted the local police department, claimed then-US President Joe Biden will soon die, and called for the destruction of Israel.
That proceeded the activist saying she does not want Zionists “anywhere” in the world while speaking in defense of a person who called for “Zionists” to leave a crowded subway car in New York City.
WOL, which planned a protest last year to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, was also behind demonstrations at the Nova Music Festival exhibit, which commemorated the more than 300 civilians slaughtered by Hamas while at a music festival.
The latter protest prompted widespread condemnation, including from Biden and even progressive members of the US Congress who are outspoken against Israel.
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), for example, posted on social media that the “callousness, dehumanization, and targeting of Jews on display at last night’s protest outside the Nova Festival exhibit was atrocious antisemitism – plain and simple.”
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Israel’s Defense Exports Hit Record $15 Billion in 2024 Despite European Pressure, Calls for Arms Embargo
Israeli troops on the ground in Gaza. Photo: IDF via Reuters
Israel reached a new all-time high in defense exports in 2024, nearing $15 billion — the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking sales — despite mounting international criticism over the war in Gaza and growing pressure from European countries to suspend arms deals.
In a press release on Wednesday, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that defense exports reached over $14.7 billion last year — a 13 percent increase from 2023 — with more than half of the deals valued at over $100 million.
According to the ministry, Israel’s military exports have more than doubled over the past five years, highlighting the industry’s rapid expansion and growing global demand.
“This tremendous achievement is a direct result of the successes of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and defense industries against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Ayatollah regime in Iran, and in additional arenas where we operate against Israel’s enemies,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
“The world sees Israeli strength and seeks to be a partner in it. We will continue strengthening the IDF and the Israeli economy through security innovation to ensure clear superiority against any threat – anywhere and anytime,” Katz continued.
In 2024, over half of the Jewish state’s defense contracts were with European countries — up from 35 percent the previous year — as many in the region have increased their defense spending following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Despite increasing pressure and widespread anti-Israel sentiment among European governments amid the current conflict in Gaza, this latest data seems to contradict recent calls by European leaders to impose an arms embargo on the Jewish state over its defensive campaign in Gaza against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
On Wednesday, Germany reversed its earlier threat to halt arms deliveries to Israel, reaffirming its commitment to continue cooperation and maintain defense contracts with Jerusalem.
“Germany will continue to support the State of Israel, including with arms deliveries,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told lawmakers in parliament.
Last week, Berlin warned it would take unspecified measures against Israel if it continued its military campaign in Gaza, citing concerns that exported weapons were being used in violation of humanitarian law.
“Our full support for the right to exist and the security of the State of Israel must not be instrumentalized for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip,” Wadephul said in a statement.
Germany would be “examining whether what is happening in the Gaza Strip is compatible with international humanitarian law,” he continued. “Further arms deliveries will be authorized based on the outcome of that review.”
Spain and Ireland are among the countries in Europe that have threatened or taken steps to limit arms deals with Israel, while others such as France have threatened unspecified harsh measures against the Jewish state.
According to the Israeli defense ministry’s report, since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, 2023, after the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, the operational successes and proven battlefield performance of Israeli systems have fueled strong international demand for Israel’s defense technology.
Last year, the export of missiles, rockets, and air defense systems reached a new high, making up 48 percent of the total deal volume — up from 36 percent in 2023.
Similarly, satellite and space systems exports surged, accounting for 8 percent of total deals in 2024 — quadrupling their share from 2 percent in 2023.
While Europe dominated Israel’s defense export market in 2024, significant portions also went to other regions. Asia and the Pacific made up 23 percent of total sales — slightly lower than in previous years, when the region approached 30 percent.
Exports to Abraham Accords countries fell to 12 percent, down from 23 percent in 2022, while North America remained stable at around 9 percent.
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