Hamodia's recent article, U.S. Toughens Visa Standards for Israelis, reminds me of a similar dynamic that occurred during Calvin Coolidge's administration.
Coolidge served as America's 30th President during the years 1923-1929.
Despite his strong stance in favor of creating a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael, and despite that you cannot find one off remark regarding Jews (but can find only either neutral or positive statements with regard to both Jews & Judaism), Coolidge is the President who signed the 1924 Immigration Restriction Act, which is ultimately what blocked Jews from escaping Nazi Europe.
(You can read more about it here: How We Should Really be Responding to Our Politicians)
Because America suffered very real problems from the rampant & acceptable alcoholism prevalent among certain immigrant groups, and because petty crimes and violence associated with gangs and drinking took hold among certain immigrant groups, it's understandable how easy it was for Coolidge's administration to convince him to sign the bill.
Eugenics was a popular and legitimate science among America's elites at that time. And even though Coolidge was the first president to try & mostly succeed in ridding the U.S. government of KKK members and the like (even if he couldn't completely oust all the people & ideologies embraced by previous administrations), he was still influenced by the elites and the popular science of his time.
But we all know the heart of the ruler is in Hashem's Hand.
I don't know what this new and highly discriminatory restriction indicates, especially since I'd think that Jews would need to run away from America to Eretz Yisrael. So it's the seeming opposite of the effect in European Jewry's 1930s-40s.
Also, the 1924 Act really affected non-Jews from those countries, only becoming extremely discriminatory toward Jews when Jews desperately needed to escape on those visas.
This recent restriction is particularly Jewish (although there are a great many non-Jewish Israelis theoretically affected by it too).
However, it's impossible to deny the similarity of a an exclusively discriminatory law against Jews (although there are many non-Jewish Israelis too) under the rule of a pro-Israel, Jewishly sympathetic President.
At this point, I don't have any other thoughts or insights about it. Just noting a similarity that doesn't often occur.
Coolidge served as America's 30th President during the years 1923-1929.
Despite his strong stance in favor of creating a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael, and despite that you cannot find one off remark regarding Jews (but can find only either neutral or positive statements with regard to both Jews & Judaism), Coolidge is the President who signed the 1924 Immigration Restriction Act, which is ultimately what blocked Jews from escaping Nazi Europe.
(You can read more about it here: How We Should Really be Responding to Our Politicians)
Because America suffered very real problems from the rampant & acceptable alcoholism prevalent among certain immigrant groups, and because petty crimes and violence associated with gangs and drinking took hold among certain immigrant groups, it's understandable how easy it was for Coolidge's administration to convince him to sign the bill.
Eugenics was a popular and legitimate science among America's elites at that time. And even though Coolidge was the first president to try & mostly succeed in ridding the U.S. government of KKK members and the like (even if he couldn't completely oust all the people & ideologies embraced by previous administrations), he was still influenced by the elites and the popular science of his time.
But we all know the heart of the ruler is in Hashem's Hand.
I don't know what this new and highly discriminatory restriction indicates, especially since I'd think that Jews would need to run away from America to Eretz Yisrael. So it's the seeming opposite of the effect in European Jewry's 1930s-40s.
Also, the 1924 Act really affected non-Jews from those countries, only becoming extremely discriminatory toward Jews when Jews desperately needed to escape on those visas.
This recent restriction is particularly Jewish (although there are a great many non-Jewish Israelis theoretically affected by it too).
However, it's impossible to deny the similarity of a an exclusively discriminatory law against Jews (although there are many non-Jewish Israelis too) under the rule of a pro-Israel, Jewishly sympathetic President.
At this point, I don't have any other thoughts or insights about it. Just noting a similarity that doesn't often occur.
RSS Feed
