Testimony by a University of Wisconsin medical specialist here that Jews cannot take pain was challenged by Dr. Abraham Bernstein, a well-known San Francisco specialist.
Dr. Bernstein cited the testimony of Dr. Francis Hummer before a circuit court jury. Dr. Hummer testified he based his opinion on 32 years as a practicing physician. In his comment, Dr. Bernstein said that in his 35 years of practice, he had had patients of all faiths, races, color and creeds. On the basis of that experience, he added, he believed that “the Jewish patient stood pain as well, if not better, than the patient of Latin or Greek origin” and that it was “a mistake to say the Jew cannot stand pain.”
Dr. Bernstein noted that pain is an experience of the whole person “and is highly colored by his emotions.” He then cited the torture of Rabbi Akiba by the Romans, re-calling that Rabbi Akiba was burned to death “and yet he died with a smile on his face. He certainly suffered pain and torture but not one word of complaint. This is not an isolated case of Jewish heroism.”
The San Francisco medical specialist noted also that many Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide “went to the gas chambers singing and praising the name of the Lord.” He added that such Jews knew “they were going to suffer the tortures of hell, yet they showed true heroism.”
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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.
