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The American Jew As Patriot, Soldier, And Citizen
In response to a letter published in 1891 questioning Jews' participation in defense of the U.S., a Jewish community leader researched such roles. Levy collected Wolf's rosters, statistics (by war, military branch, state, and total) and commentary on his co-religionists' honorable service since the Revolutionary War, as well as presidential commendations on their contributions. Both address anti-Semitism. Income from sale of the original 1941 edition was donated to the B'nai Brith Orphan Home in Atlanta, Georgia. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
591 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1972
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December 25, 2025
This one is a fascinating philo-Semitic document from the 1890s. It aims to prove the patriotism and good character of Jews, and that they are a benefit to the nations they are in, mostly the US. To this end, this is a compilation of historical documents, persuasive texts, and army records of Jewish soldiers. Despite being edited by a Jew, most of the material in this book was written by non-Jews. This makes sense, since anyone would expect Jews to favor themselves.
What is odd and fascinating about this text is that it is of its time. It was apparently published right before the Dreyfus Affair, since there is no mention of that event. It treats both Union and Confederate soldiers as similar examples of Jewish patriotism, as well as taking the same tone with abolitionist Jews and South American Jewish slaveowners. The weirdest thing in this book is when using typical nineteenth century race language to praise the Jewish race. Often while putting down other races, sadly.
The true weirdest part of this book is the list of Jewish soldiers that fought in the Civil War. It makes up the majority of the book, which certainly proves its case that Jews are willing to fight for their country. Even if it is a fake country like the CSA. A lot of the Jews listed have names that feel just German to me, but I think I trust this book to look for genuine Jewish soldiers rather than Gentiles whose names can pass as Jewish. The soldiers are listed by state, and the state with the most Jewish soldiers is New York, because apparently New York has always been like that.
Despite everything that dates this book and makes it an interesting historical case, a lot of what it says about Jews and antisemitism rings true today. Jews definitely enrich the countries that treat them better. This book mentions converts like Benjamin Disraeli, but yup they’re Jewish too. Near the end of this book, Russian antisemitism is described, and it is way too much like modern antisemitism. I really like the section about Haym Salomon in this book, because I researched him for my college class. As stupid as this sounds, a lot of the persuasive articles included stirred my soul and make me proud to be a Jew.
What is odd and fascinating about this text is that it is of its time. It was apparently published right before the Dreyfus Affair, since there is no mention of that event. It treats both Union and Confederate soldiers as similar examples of Jewish patriotism, as well as taking the same tone with abolitionist Jews and South American Jewish slaveowners. The weirdest thing in this book is when using typical nineteenth century race language to praise the Jewish race. Often while putting down other races, sadly.
The true weirdest part of this book is the list of Jewish soldiers that fought in the Civil War. It makes up the majority of the book, which certainly proves its case that Jews are willing to fight for their country. Even if it is a fake country like the CSA. A lot of the Jews listed have names that feel just German to me, but I think I trust this book to look for genuine Jewish soldiers rather than Gentiles whose names can pass as Jewish. The soldiers are listed by state, and the state with the most Jewish soldiers is New York, because apparently New York has always been like that.
Despite everything that dates this book and makes it an interesting historical case, a lot of what it says about Jews and antisemitism rings true today. Jews definitely enrich the countries that treat them better. This book mentions converts like Benjamin Disraeli, but yup they’re Jewish too. Near the end of this book, Russian antisemitism is described, and it is way too much like modern antisemitism. I really like the section about Haym Salomon in this book, because I researched him for my college class. As stupid as this sounds, a lot of the persuasive articles included stirred my soul and make me proud to be a Jew.
Displaying 1 of 1 review