The allegation voiced by some anti-Semitic groups that the proportion of Jews in the Government service is far in excess of the proportion of Jews in the general population is denied in the chapter on “Jews in Government,” in the recently issued volume “Washington Is Like That” by W.M. Kiplinger, published by Harper & Brothers.
From his own observations, Kiplinger states that the number of Jews in the various Government departments in Washington constitute about four percent of all the employees, which is the proportion of Jews among the 130,000,000 Americans. Kiplinger explodes the myth that all the Jews in the Government act together so as to create a cohesive “Jewish influence.” He reports that the Jews in the nation’s capital, like every other religious group, are split in to scores of different groups holding widely-varying philosophies.
He attributes the public impression that there are a tremendous amount of Jews employed by the Government to the fact that in certain agencies which come in contact with the public – such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board – there are a substantial number of Jews employed. These departments, he points out, employ statisticians, lawyers and economists.
Kiplinger reports that there is discrimination against Jews in some Government bureaus and also agitation against them fostered by some anti-Semitic Congressmen. Some Government officials, however, are seeking to stop the subtle discrimination that has been practiced against Jews, he writes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
