Roosevelt Lauds Patriotism of Jews in Message to Veterans

Declaring that Jews throughout the years have “proven their unfaltering patriotism,” President Roosevelt, in a special message to the forthcoming 45th annual encampment of the Jewish War Veterans here, expressed the belief that “your people will give whole-hearted and full cooperation in the development and execution of our present National Defense Program.”

The message urged the 10,000 veterans who will assemble in Boston from August 28 through September 1 to “thank God for this nation where we are all free to meet in peaceful assemblage such as this and discuss, without fear, our mutual problem.

“In this day, when the dark shadow of war and its appalling consequences falls over the greater part of the old world,” the President continued, “it is a happy prospect for the future safety and welfare of our democracy that in meetings of this kind the members of organizations such as yours regularly renew their comradeship, because your comradeship was born of that genuine loyalty which has been seasoned by unselfish service to your country. The consciousness of the value of such service and the satisfaction of rendering it is still your common tie. We cannot reflect upon a thing of this kind without being inspired to contemplate our country’s future needs and what, despite our past sacrifices, should be expected of all citizens in regard to supplying them.

“American citizens of Jewish extraction can recount with pride their contributions to both substance and service to their country. From the Declaration of Independence to the present time they have proven their unfaltering patriotism. More than 200,000 of them participated in the World War. The glorious record of your past warrants beyond doubt the conclusion that your people will give whole-hearted and full cooperation in the development and execution of our present National Defense Program.”