Jewish War Veterans

Founded as the Hebrew Union Veterans Association, the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) is the oldest veterans’ organization in the United States. Like the American Legion and other larger nonsectarian veterans’ groups, the JWV builds camaraderie and is also an interest group lobbying for government benefits for veterans. As a Jewish organization, combating anti-Semitism at home and abroad has been a core mission of the JWV. After the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the JWV sought to build support for the new country, especially among veterans.

Growing anti-Semitism in the early 1890s played a key role in encouraging Jewish veterans to form their own distinctive veterans’ organization. The JWV formed in 1912 by the merger of two smaller organizations: the Hebrew Union Veterans Association (founded in 1896) and the Hebrew Veterans of the War with Spain (founded in 1899). In 1918, the group took the name Hebrew Veterans of the Wars of the Republic.

As a result of the massive immigration of Eastern European Jews in the 1890s and early 1900s, large numbers of Jews served in the American military during World War I. The reaction of the federal government to these Jewish servicemen and veterans was ambiguous. On the one hand, the military authorized the Jewish Welfare Board to establish programs to meet the spiritual and recreational needs of Jewish servicemen. On the other, national and military leaders expressed concern about the loyalty of Jewish Americans and other “hyphenated” Americans, especially after the success of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Under the leadership of Spanish–American War veteran and New York City judge Maurice Simmons, the JWV invited Jewish veterans from all wars to join. In 1922, the organization convened its first national convention and selected Simmons as its first national commander. In 1929, the organization adopted the name Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. Although more than a quarter of a million American Jews served in the U.S. military during World War I, only a small fraction joined the Jewish War Veterans—a pattern in keeping with veterans group membership generally.

During the 20th century, the JWV had much in common with the nonsectarian and nationally based American Legion. Both used the community-based post as the institutional building block. Both the JWV and Legion offered opportunities for social interaction through meetings and recreational activities. Many posts also performed a variety of community service projects, such as visiting sick veterans, sponsoring youth athletic activities, soliciting funds for charitable organizations, and working with local schools. Like the Legion, the JWV held an annual national convention that served not only as an opportunity to influence public policy but also as an occasion for camaraderie. Both maintained auxiliary organizations for spouses. Many members of the JWV were also members of the larger American Legion and [Page 391]Veterans of Foreign Wars. In fact, several leaders of the JWV encouraged members to become actively involved in these larger veterans’ organizations to advance the interests of all veterans and of American Jewry.

After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, the JWV took a leading role in organizing a campaign within the United States to protest the racial policies of Nazi Germany. Jewish War Veterans joined with other anti-Nazi groups in organizing protest marches and boycotting German-manufactured goods. In contrast to the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, JWV veterans favored liberalizing immigration quotas to enable greater numbers of refugees fleeing Nazi Germany to enter the United States.

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