Sold – America Is Determined to “stand firmly against the menace of international communism”

Written to Rabbi Feldman.

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Abraham J. Feldman was born in Kiev, Ukraine and came to the U.S. in 1906 at age 11. In 1918, he was ordained as a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College, and then served as fellowship assistant for Rabbi Stephen S. Wise at his Free Synagogue in New York. A year later,...

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Sold – America Is Determined to “stand firmly against the menace of international communism”

Written to Rabbi Feldman.

Abraham J. Feldman was born in Kiev, Ukraine and came to the U.S. in 1906 at age 11. In 1918, he was ordained as a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College, and then served as fellowship assistant for Rabbi Stephen S. Wise at his Free Synagogue in New York. A year later, Feldman went on to Congregation Children of Israel in Athens, Ga. and then spent five years as rabbi to the Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Philadelphia. In 1925 Feldman was selected as rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, CT, where he remained until retiring in 1977. While at Beth Israel, Feldman was a leader not only in Connecticut Jewish life, but also in ecumenical and secular organizations. In 1929 he was a co-founder of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger, of which he remained editor until 1977.

Feldman was prominent in Jewish organizations at the national level, as well. He was a member of the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College and served on the executive council of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the oldest American federation of Jewish congregations and a long-time center of Reform Judaism. Long a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the principal organization of Reform Jewish rabbis in the United States, Feldman rose in 1947 to become its President. From 1952-1957, he served as President of the Synagogue Council of America, a joint organization of Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jewish communities which acted to coordinate Jewish life and activities in America. The organization did more than act as facilitator of activities and dialogue between the branches of American Judaism, it made the world outside aware of Jewish concerns. In addition, he participated in Zionist activities, and was on the publications committee of Jewish Publication Society and the National Committee of the Jewish Book Council of America. A prolific writer, Feldman penned more than 26 books, pamphlets, and articles.

Rabbi Feldman had a small but significant correspondence from three presidents on such topics as the contributions of Jews to American society, the refuge that the United States has provided, and their advocacy and defense of American institutions. We recently obtained the letters directly from the Feldman family; they have never been offered for sale before.

To further promote the ideas of the MSP, the President’s Citizen advisors on the Mutual Security Program was created by Eisenhower on September 22, 1956. The purpose of the committee was to study and make recommendations on the role, scope, operation, and impact of military, economic, technical and other foreign assistance programs in relation to the foreign policy and national interest of the United States. It reported to the President on March 1, 1957. One of the major reasons for creating the Citizens Advisors was to create a record to justify the foreign aid appropriation being submitted to the Congress in 1957. Therefore, the thrust of the reports and briefings it prepared by both American and foreign government officials was that foreign assistance was a positive influence on the peoples of the recipient nations and served American foreign policy objectives. American assistance, according to these documents, strengthened nations economically and militarily to resist communism. Rabbi Feldman wrote President Eisenhower saying that The Synagogue Council of America approved of his program and received this letter in response.

Typed Letter Signed on White House letterhead, Washington, May 24, 1957, to Feldman as President of the Synagogue Council of America. “I deeply appreciate the support you have expressed for the Mutual Security program. In this recognition of the importance of strengthening the saving shield of freedom, you and your associates in The Synagogue Council of America give voice to America’s determination to stand firmly against the menace of international communism. Enactment of the proposed economic and military programs will contribute effectively both to our immediate security and to the promotion of peace in the world. Thank you for your clear expression of what you regard as being in the national interest.”

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