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As soon as
the persecution of German Jews began, various public figures in
American Jewry, headed by Stephen Wise, a Zionist and the head of
the American Jewish Congress, bruited proposals for tough action
against Germany. Large segments of American Jewry were reluctant to
defend German Jewry publicly because of antisemitism in America and
the prevailing isolationist climate. Nevertheless, on March 19,
1933, the Association of American Jewish War Veterans declared a
boycott of German manufacturers in response to preparations for the
April 1 boycott in Germany, and in August the American Jewish
Congress issued a boycott statement of its own. American Jewry,
divided and fragmented, did not lend full and organized support to
the boycott activity. |
