It is stated that some of the first Jews to arrive in our country came from South America in 1654. They were refugees from persecution which began in Spain and Portugal and spread to the South American colonies. The Jewish refugees landed in New Amsterdam, then under control of the Dutch and now known as New York City. According to reports the Dutch governor was hesitant about permitting them to land and to remain there.
These first immigrants were Sephardic, that is, Spanish Jews. By 1826 some six thousand Jews, mostly Spanish, had come to the United States. From 1830 to 1850 approximately sixty thousand more arrived, these being largely from Central Europe and principally. from Germany. These German Jews, known as the Ashkenazim, constituted the second wave of Jewish newcomers to our shores. The third wave came in the wake of the outbreak of anti-Semitism in Russia in the 1880's and 1890's. They were, for the most part, orthodox ghetto Jews who looked upon America as the land of liberty and religious freedom. From 1880 to 1900 one million Jews arrived in the United States ; in the ten years before the war of 1914 another million came ; and from 1914 until 1921 and 1924, when the new immigration laws were enacted, these numbers were swelled by some three hundred and fifty thousand more.
Since Hitler came to power in 1933 we have witnessed a fourth wave of Jewish immigration, principally German Jews. Most of these are of a cultural type, made up of scholars, musicians, scientists, and literary men, as well as skilled artisans and tradespeople. A great many of them are refugees from late persecution in Europe.
There are now more than five million Jews within the borders of the United States, representing about 3.7 per cent of the total population. New York City is by far the largest Jewish city in the world. Actually, it has more than the next twelve largest Jewish cities in the world. It has almost five times as many as in all the British Isles, and almost four times as many as were in Germany when Hitler came to power.
According. to the American Jewish Year Book, of the total number of 16,181,328 Jews in the world, 9,394,072 reside in Europe, 601,797 in Africa, 8i,243 in Asia, 27,016 in Australia and 5,343,200 in America. Thus 58.05 per cent live in Europe and 33.02 per cent in America. Of the American Jews, 5,018,251 live in North America and the West Indies, and 324,949 in South and Central America. Palestine has a Jewish population of 424,373.
Jewish community life in America is strong. An American Jewish Committee exists, and an American Jewish Congress, which is aggressively Zionist in character. There are an American Jewish Publication Society, several national Jewish brotherhoods, and numerous young men's and young women's Hebrew associations. There are Jewish fraternities and sororities in various universities, an American Rabbinical Association, and several Jewish theological seminaries of high standard.
Seventy-four weekly, forty-nine monthly, nineteen daily, and twenty-six irregularly appearing Jewish publications are issued in the United States. Of these fifty-five are in Yiddish, or Yiddish and English, or Hebrew, with one in Ladino, which is a Spanish-Turkish-Jewish patois.
At present the Jews in America play an important role in many fields of human endeavor. Their contributions to national life have been diverse and often valuable. America owes a great deal to its Jewish citizens.
Today we face the deplorable but undeniable fact that prejudice against the Jewish people is not only at white heat in certain countries across the sea, but also that we may see it raise its ugly head in our own America. In an official report of the Dies Committee, appointed to investigate un-American activities, it stated that 135 anti-Semitic organizations have been brought to its attention. The committee had before it printed matter published by seventy-three of these organizations. The majority proved to be "letterhead outfits," but nevertheless distributed a great amount of anti-Jewish propaganda.
To counteract anti-Semitic propaganda, and to build friendship and tolerance among racial groups, the Presbyterians have organized the Newcomers Christian Fellowship in New York City. Commenting on this work, the Presbyterian Tribune of September, 1944, has this to say:
"The Jewish Hitler refugees founded quite a number of Jewish congregations in recent years with German language sermons. The Christian refugees did not. Some have tried to get a new spiritual home in one of the American churches, and are now happy members there. Others were not so fortunate. Especially in some congregations of more or less Teutonic background they were disappointed not to find the understanding welcome they had hoped for. . . . That is the problem our Newcomers Christian Fellowship is trying to solve by building a bridge between the American church and the refugees."
Seventh-day Adventists have a much greater work to do among the Jewish people than hitherto undertaken. The following words from the Spirit of prophecy make our duty plain:
"In the closing proclamation of the gospel, when special work is to be done for classes of people hitherto neglected, God expects His messengers to take particular interest in the Jewish people whom they find in all parts of the earth. . . . Among the Jews are some who, like Saul of Tarsus, are mighty in the Scriptures, and these will proclaim with wonderful power the immutability of the law of God. The God of Israel will bring this to pass in our day. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save. As His servants labor in faith for those who have long been neglected and despised, His salvation will be revealed."—Acts of the Apostles, p. 513
