Am I arguing for quiet 'court Jews' like Henry Morgenthau, who allowed FDR to ignore the Holocaust because he didn't want to stir up trouble for the Jews? No, although historically court Jews have proved extremely useful both for the governments they served and for their community, and many with far more to lose than Morgenthau courageously risked everything in times of crisis. Jews in America should serve this country enthusiastically and proudly, for after all, America's well-being is crucial to our own. But without pandering to the rest of the world, we need to be realistic about it. People hate us. People hate Americans. People hate Americans in part because they associate Americans with Jews. Since so much is riding on the fate of our nation, we should try to avoid doing anything that could hurt it.

I like davening with Joe, even if I'm glad he won't be president. He reminds me what's right about Jewish values and American values. And yet he also reminds me how much those values are imperiled. Jews in America have already achieved so much; we can live without the presidency.

[1]       [2]       [3]       4 Image: Henry Morgenthau and FDR - "two of a kind"

Michael Shurkin is a writer and editor based in Washington, DC.

Related articles:

The Truth about the Rosenbergs Joel Stanley
Robert Meeropol's An Execution in the Family
January, 2004

French Antisemitism Michael Shurkin
Is France Antisemitic?
November, 2003

Radical Evil Michael Shurkin
Bernard Henri-Levy on the death of Daniel Pearl
September, 2003

Zionism and Colonialism Michael Shurkin
Is Zionism Colonialism?
June, 2003

Germanophobia Michael Shurkin
Fearing the Germans for the Wrong Reasons
April, 2003

War and Not-War Dan Friedman
The ambiguities of art and life
March, 2003

Strasbourg Cathedral Michael Shurkin
The soft borders between Jewish particularism and universalism
February, 2003

If Only It Were All Just Art Michael Shurkin
Anxiety on the National Mall
January, 2003

The Polity Rachel Dobkin
Overheard in Union Square, September 11, 2002
October, 2002

Mourning in America Samuel Hayim Brody
Consuming September 11
September, 2002

Elephant Memory Jay Michaelson
The most evil and deceitful administration in American history
August, 2002

The Failure of Anti-Despotism Justin Weitz
America's shallow globalization strategy
July, 2002

Finding a Place in the Minefield:
American Jews and the Situation Samuel Hayim Brody
Avoiding the obvious Jewish responses to the mideast crisis: a response to Jay Michaelson
June, 2002

On Being a Leftist and a Zionist Jay Michaelson
It's a lonely world when you're both an anti-globalization leftist and a Zionist.
May, 2002