LBJ, Jews and Israel

Meryl tipped me off to this post. Here is an excerpt:
"The Texas congressman’s district had only 400 Jews, but clearly the Johnson family’s Christian teachings had given him a strong affinity for Jews and their return to the Holy Land.

Five days after taking office in 1937, LBJ broke with the “Dixiecrats” and supported an immigration bill that would naturalize illegal aliens, mostly Jews from Lithuania and Poland. In 1938, Johnson was told of a young Austrian Jewish musician who was about to be deported from the United States. With an element of subterfuge, LBJ sent him to the U.S. Consulate in Havana to obtain a residency permit. Erich Leinsdorf, the world famous musician and conductor, credited LBJ for saving his live.

Johnson Saved Hundreds of Jews

That same year, LBJ warned a Jewish friend that European Jews faced annihilation. Somehow, Johnson provided him with a pile of signed immigration papers that were used to get 42 Jews out of Warsaw. But that wasn’t enough. According to historian, James M. Smallwood, Congressman Johnson used legal and sometimes illegal methods to smuggle “hundreds of Jews into Texas, using Galveston as the entry port. Enough money could buy false passports and fake visas in Cuba, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. … Johnson smuggled boatloads and planeloads of Jews into Texas. He hid them in the Texas National Youth Administration…. Johnson saved at least four or five hundred Jews, possibly more..”"
The Elder has more.

5 comments:

Right Truth said...

That's very interesting.

Debbie Hamilton
Right Truth

Jack Steiner said...

I thought so as well.

The Misanthrope said...

That is fascinating and what is amazing is that I had never heard of this before. This is the kind of information that makes someone a hero. On the other hand, it's truly impressive that Johnson did not call attention to and just did it as the right thing to do. I am surprised the Democrats have not publicized this more.

Gila said...

Wow--I had no idea!

How nice to see a politician doing the right thing. Even if it was 70 years ago.

Jack Steiner said...

M,

It surprises me too.

Gila,

Absolutely.

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