Historian Highlights 1934 NYTimes Opinion Piece Urging Jews to Be Civil Towards Nazis
CUNY professor and historian Angus Johnston pulled up 1934 NYTimes content wherein a Quaker calls for Jews to be civil to Hitler and Nazis. Johnston then includes responses from individual Rabbis and Rabbinical society.
Okay. I've found it. The absolute culmination of the "we have to build bridges with the far right" argument. https://t.co/PpMHELNIe1— Angus Johnston (@Angus Johnston) 1528994472
Henry Cadbury was the Quaker and his argument is familiar: If you resist the Nazis, you’ll just make it worse for yourself.
Cadbury’s comments published in the NYTimes were from a speech he gave to a group of Rabbis.
The Rabbis responded and I urge you all to read Professor Johnston’s twitter thread which contains many clips and some helpful context that he provides. For example, when Rabbis mention Israel here they refer to the Spiritual state as it was understood historically and not the actual physical country of Israel which didn’t exist yet.