Philo-Semites in history Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harry Truman

Truman idolized Marshall, whom he called (with no small justification) "The Great One", but Marshall's opposition to recognition of Israel, on 'realpolitik' grounds, did not sway him. Truman's defense secretary, Forrestal, was a known anti-semite and thus his opinion might have carried less weight. Truman had in essence a cold head but a warm heart, and the lobbying efforts of his beloved former business partner, Eddie Jacobson, may well have played a big part in leading him to this momentous decision. David McCullough's biography of the man from Missouri documents this in fascinating detail.

Answer: Emile Zola

The headline was, of course "J'Accuse", and the investigative story set forth the details of the contrived plot against a Jewish army captain, Alfred Dreyfus, whom Zola defended staunchly. Anti-Jewish riots broke out shortly thereafter in several French cities, the Dreyfus affair quickly polarized the country, and Zola had to leave the country. France's relationship with its Jewish community (now -2002 - the largest in Europe, btw) has been an unusual though clearly not always good one, and the taint of Vichy has certainly left scars, but hope persists.

At the beginning of this 21st century, many Jews were greatly moved by the magnitude of the massive anti-Le Pen demonstrations in Paris. (Houellebecq, by the way, who recently beat the silly French "blasphemy" case against him, is also vociferously pro-Jewish).

Answer: Pope John XXIII

As papal nuncio to the Balkans and Turkey, then-Cardinal Angelo Roncalli prevailed upon Bulgaria's King Boris to resist deportation of his country's Jews, as a result of which Bulgaria ended up being the only European country with a larger Jewish population after WWII than before. See Martin Gilbert's "Never Again..." or (for a review)www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/07/16/Books/Books.9662.

There is some dispute as to the exact number saved as a result of Roncalli's intercession; the half-million figure can be found at wais.stanford.edu/religion_vaticanandjews4702. Pope John Paul II, the present pope, has obviously taken the church even further forward with respect to its relations with Judaism; probably the best biography of him is by a Jew, Tad Szulc, and readers may be surprised and interested to learn that the first papal audience the "Polish Pope" gave was in fact to a Jew, a childhood friend of his.

Answer: Benjamin Disraeli

The first quote from Disraeli's "Contarini Fleming"; the latter from his "Coningsby"; see also Paul Johnson's excellent "A History of the Jews", pp. 321-325. Few if any 19th century statesmen fought harder for Jewish rights. Disraeli lived much of his life as an Anglican, but there is much else in the historical record to suggest that he never considered himself far removed from the faith into which he'd been born.

Answer: Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt lived for a time near the Jewish area of Amsterdam, and numbered among his friends rabbis, Jewish doctors, and other members of the post-1492 exile from the Iberian peninsula. Old Testament motifs such as the blinding of Samson, and the feast of Belshazzar provided Rembrandt with the subject matter of some of his most jarring and memorable paintings. Ruisdael, by the way, another Dutchman, painted "The Jewish Cemetery".

Answer: Mark Twain

Twain was one of the nation's greatest contrarians and hence a natural ally of the underdog; his most famous literary creation was Huckleberry Finn, the town pariah; his noblest was Miss Watson's Jim, a runaway slave. His affinity for the Jews thus came naturally to him, and his deceptively simple essay in their defense, "Concerning The Jews", published in 1900, is as movingly eloquent as anything he ever put to paper.

The piece can be readily accessed on the 'net at www.boondocksnet.com/twaintexts/concerningjews. Critics say he resurrects a few old canards, which he does, but the overwhelming thrust of the piece is ferociously pro-Semitic.

Answer: William Styron

"Sophie's Choice" has been maligned as (among other things) overwritten. It is... WONDERFULLY overwritten. Styron's onanistic reveries about the marvels, bodily and otherwise, of Jewish women (he is married to one, by the way), stand in stark contrast to the unending whining of many Jewish writers about the shortcomings of another literary archetype, the materialistic, sexually passive "Jewish-American Princess."

Answer: David Lloyd George

Lloyd George was raised by his uncle, a Methodist lay preacher, and early on became something of an Old Testament whiz. It is said that he "knew the names of the Kings of Israel before he knew those of England." (wais.stanford.edu/israel_palestine and israel12201). By one way of reckoning, the Balfour declaration, which led to the birth of the modern-day state of Israel, is his brainchild.

Answer: Jozef Pilsudski

Pilsudski, though rightward-leaning, was notoriously pro-Jewish and earned himself the sobriquet of "dziadek Jude" ("Grandfather of the Jews"). See, e.g., indyweek.com/durham/2001-05-02/first. That there was widespread anti-semitism in Poland is beyond cavil; even after the Holocaust, there was a pogrom in Kielce, on 7/4/46, in which 42 Jews were killed.

But less known is the fact that Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, honors more Poles than any other nationality as "righteous" for having saved Jews during the shoah; indeed, it should be stressed that Poles were the only nationality subject to the death penalty for aiding Jews.

Answer: He appointed the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice.

Wilson fought Congress for several months over the appointment of Louis Brandeis, who became the first Jewish Supreme Court justice. Unfortunately, Wilson was a bit of a racist on other fronts. Clemenceau, who published Zola's momentous article in 1898, was present on behalf of France, and the aforementioned Lloyd George appeared on behalf of Great Britain. Sadly, the argument can be made that the Paris Conference, and its unfortunate spawn, the Treaty of Versailles, led down a slippery slope to WWII and the Holocaust.