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Refuge Must Be Given: Eleanor Roosevelt, the Jewish Plight, and the Founding of Israel
Refuge Must Be Given details the evolution of Eleanor Roosevelt from someone who harbored negative impressions of Jews to become a leading Gentile champion of Israel in the United States. The book explores, for the first time, Roosevelt’s partnership with the Quaker leader Clarence Pickett in seeking to admit more refugees into the United States, and her relationship with Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, who was sympathetic to the victims of Nazi persecution yet defended a visa process that failed both Jewish and non-Jewish refugees.
After the war, as a member of the American delegation to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt slowly came to the conclusion that the partition of Palestine was the only solution both for the Jews in the displaced persons camps in Europe, and for the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews. When Israel became a state, she became deeply involved in supporting the work of Youth Aliyah and Hadassah, its American sponsor, in bringing Jewish refugee children to Israel and training them to become productive citizens. Her devotion to Israel reflected some of her deepest beliefs about education, citizenship, and community building. Her excitement about Israel’s accomplishments and her cultural biases, however, blinded her to the impact of Israel’s founding on the Arabs. Visiting the new nation four times and advocating on Israel’s behalf created a warm bond not only between her and the people of Israel, but between her and the American Jewish community.
After the war, as a member of the American delegation to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt slowly came to the conclusion that the partition of Palestine was the only solution both for the Jews in the displaced persons camps in Europe, and for the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews. When Israel became a state, she became deeply involved in supporting the work of Youth Aliyah and Hadassah, its American sponsor, in bringing Jewish refugee children to Israel and training them to become productive citizens. Her devotion to Israel reflected some of her deepest beliefs about education, citizenship, and community building. Her excitement about Israel’s accomplishments and her cultural biases, however, blinded her to the impact of Israel’s founding on the Arabs. Visiting the new nation four times and advocating on Israel’s behalf created a warm bond not only between her and the people of Israel, but between her and the American Jewish community.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 10, 2023
This book is a thorough retelling and analysis of how Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) supported the efforts to save the European Jews fleeing the horrors of World War II.
The author did not leave a stone unturned. I read through pages and pages of stories told in snippets from ER's columns, transcripts from radio broadcasts or speeches, and quotes from letters she penned. The book painted a picture of a woman frantically pulling at all strings, wanting to make a difference but constrained by her circumstances of being the First Lady. It's impossible to ponder how a position of influence that afforded her access to people with deep pockets and deep hearts was, at the same time, the biggest obstacle to her campaign.
(Side note: I would love to find out more about how the communication between the US government and its Europen posts and reps worked around that time - one can only wonder how long a letter with a life-changing power travelled between the governmental officials responsible for such hard decisions.)
It is inevitable that one will ask out loud, "Why did ER not do more?". Politics is a ruthless game, and it is most evident in the passages where an ask to make an appearance will be met with a feeble excuse because the presidential office knows the price ER's nod of support would cost the president. However, at times, especially when ER's prejudice and repeating of stereotypes about the Jewish people are revealed, it's also clear that she had not been entirely committed to going the full length.
Overall, this is a great book about a female leader, who showed incredible tenacity when many chose to do nothing. I will definitely look at ER in a different light from now on.
The author did not leave a stone unturned. I read through pages and pages of stories told in snippets from ER's columns, transcripts from radio broadcasts or speeches, and quotes from letters she penned. The book painted a picture of a woman frantically pulling at all strings, wanting to make a difference but constrained by her circumstances of being the First Lady. It's impossible to ponder how a position of influence that afforded her access to people with deep pockets and deep hearts was, at the same time, the biggest obstacle to her campaign.
(Side note: I would love to find out more about how the communication between the US government and its Europen posts and reps worked around that time - one can only wonder how long a letter with a life-changing power travelled between the governmental officials responsible for such hard decisions.)
It is inevitable that one will ask out loud, "Why did ER not do more?". Politics is a ruthless game, and it is most evident in the passages where an ask to make an appearance will be met with a feeble excuse because the presidential office knows the price ER's nod of support would cost the president. However, at times, especially when ER's prejudice and repeating of stereotypes about the Jewish people are revealed, it's also clear that she had not been entirely committed to going the full length.
Overall, this is a great book about a female leader, who showed incredible tenacity when many chose to do nothing. I will definitely look at ER in a different light from now on.
November 3, 2021
(Amazon review submitted) I am related to the writer, but since I would definitely recommend this book to others, I felt comfortable contributing a review. This is a very readable, well-researched book which focused on Eleanor Roosevelt's long term, evolving relationship with the Jews. I was aware that there was resistance to entering WWII, but had not realized how closely that was tied up with anti-Jewish sentiment. I also had not realized how powerfully various interests lobbied (successfully) against allowing Jewish refugees, including children, into most countries, including the US. The book is written in a fact-based, nuanced tone which brings you an understanding of the time period and why Eleanor's efforts, which may not be as strong as we believe that they should have been today, still brought hope and gratitude from many in the Jewish community. The writer quotes directly and extensively from her letters and the letters of those she is in touch with, providing explanations along the way to give context. I highly recommend for anyone who is interested in a deeper understanding of the history of the nation of Israel or the Jewish experience during WWII.
December 30, 2021
Refuge Must Be Given describes Eleanor Roosevelt’s dedication to the creation of the state of Israel as the solution to the European refugee crisis created by the Holocaust. Grounded in careful, thorough research that uses a rich combination of published and original sources, the book includes stories of daring cloak-and-dagger rescue attempts, long, heart-breaking waits for diplomatic responses that never came, and provides thoughtful examinations of the national and international effects of antisemitism between the 1920s and the 1940s. One of the many virtues of Refuge Must Be Given is that it doesn’t ask us to avert our eyes from the problematic nature of human history. We are allowed to see that although Eleanor Roosevelt saw the creation of Israel as a humanitarian act, she did not fully appreciate the effects that creation would have on the Palestinian people whom it displaced. We close the book with a deepened appreciation for the combination of compassion and practicality that gave ER the power to accomplish this goal, as well as for the painful complexities that remain a part of it.
December 28, 2021
John Sears has written a compelling Eleanor Roosevelt biography in REFUGE MUST BE GIVEN. Sears' extensive research goes far beyond any other historian in showing ER's mission during FDR's Presidency to help European Jews. After his death and Eleanor's appointment to the newly formed United Nations delegation, the reader will come to see the vitally important role that she played during the Truman administration in creating the State of Israel. Sears' has given us an extensive accounting of the early years of the 1940's and 50's in the blossoming of the new country. At the same time the reader will see the evolving of Mrs. Roosevelt's into a courageous humanitarian as the First Lady of the World.
December 31, 2021
John Sears has brilliantly and thoroughly researched the long-awaited story of Eleanor Roosevelt’s tireless work to help the plight of the Jewish people both during and after WWII. His work is definitely scholarly. Yet, Refuge Must Be Given is readable and comprehendible for the lay person who may or may not be familiar with Roosevelt’s humanitarian role and contributions to the Jewish community. This is a powerful and compassionate story which I recommend to others interested in Mrs. Roosevelt and the Jewish plight.
Linda Bouchey
Linda Bouchey
December 28, 2021
John Sears is a neighbor of sorts -- we both live in a tiny town in New England -- and so when I found out he was about to publish a major work on Eleanor Roosevelt, I thought I would buy the book as a gesture of support – electronic version, of course. Then I began to read it, and found myself enmeshed in one of the truly massive socio-political issues of the '20's through the '40's and beyond.
John has a way of simplifying things and making them personally vibrant that kept me going, page after page, even when the material presented was a recitation of facts without much theory or interpretation. This occurs a few times in the first half of "Refuge" as John documents Mrs. Roosevelt’s many linkups and contacts with what seems like hundreds of people in relief and support organizations all trying to influence the State Department in a more positive direction toward Jewish detainees and refugees.
In the second half, as John draws the strings together, the book gets exciting in a way that few reference works do. At that point one gets full measure of Mrs. Roosevelt's huge contribution in the face of massive, passive resistance – including on the part of the State Department, and the sitting President.
My conclusion is this: if a non-academic type like me, with little real grounding in the history of the '20's through the '40's, can enjoy a book as detailed as this, then what extra benefit would a professor or historian or grad student receive by giving John Sears’ achievement some space on his or her bookshelf or electronic library?
It's certainly worth a read to find out!
John has a way of simplifying things and making them personally vibrant that kept me going, page after page, even when the material presented was a recitation of facts without much theory or interpretation. This occurs a few times in the first half of "Refuge" as John documents Mrs. Roosevelt’s many linkups and contacts with what seems like hundreds of people in relief and support organizations all trying to influence the State Department in a more positive direction toward Jewish detainees and refugees.
In the second half, as John draws the strings together, the book gets exciting in a way that few reference works do. At that point one gets full measure of Mrs. Roosevelt's huge contribution in the face of massive, passive resistance – including on the part of the State Department, and the sitting President.
My conclusion is this: if a non-academic type like me, with little real grounding in the history of the '20's through the '40's, can enjoy a book as detailed as this, then what extra benefit would a professor or historian or grad student receive by giving John Sears’ achievement some space on his or her bookshelf or electronic library?
It's certainly worth a read to find out!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews