More than 17,000 persons attending the pageant, “The Fighting Jew,” which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Jewish War Veterans, heard Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt call for national, racial and religious unity to maintain the peace.
Reviewing the performance of Jewish service men and women in the war, Gen. Taylor told the Madison Square Garden audience: “It is for everyone as citizens to resist the forces within this nation which attempt to set up American against American, whether on the ground of profession, religion or race.” He pointed out that there was unity among all races and creeds in foxholes and asserted that after the war’s and forces of division had appeared which “give us grounds for grave concern.”
The pageant, which featured music and dramatic narration, told the story of the Jew as a warrior in American forces from the early days of New Amsterdam and the American Revolution through the hundreds of thousands of Jews, man and woman, who fought in World War II. Funds obtained from the presentation of the pageant will be used for relief and rehabilitation of veterans.
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.
