2026-01-27 01:45:PM <br/> Tags: #AmericanJewry #people #LeftwingJewry ![[image-223.png|476x320]] # Herbert Lehman (1878-1963) - Herbert Lehman was a Jewish politician, financier, and communal figure in the 20th century.[^1] - Lehman was the first Jewish governor of New York. - Lehman's father Meyer Lehman and two brothers Henry and Emanual Lehman founded the infamous investment bank [[Lehman Brothers]]. #### Family and Early Career - Lehman was born into a family of German Jewish immigrants. - Lehman was raised in reform Judaism. - Lehman's close associates in the early 1900s included Paul Sachs of [[Goldman Sachs]], [[Eugene Meyer]], and Sam Lewisohn (son of [[Adolph Lewisohn]]).[^2] - Soon after WWI, Lehman became high level official in the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)]].[^9] - Lehman was an early proponent and benefactor of the [[NAACP]].[^3] - The Herbert Lehman Education Fund was established by the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund in honor of Lehman's "integrity, courage, and persistence on behalf of numerous civil rights causes."[^17][^18] #### Governor Lehman - Lehman managed Al Smith's successful campaign for governor of New York.[^6] - In 1928 and again in 1930, Lehman was elected lieutenant governor of New York.[^4] - Lehman was the running mate of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who won the governorship. Both were Democrats. - Lehman was introduced to the Democratic convention as a possible candidate by Jewish congressman Meyer Jacobstein (D-NY). - Jacobstein remarked: "The man [Lehman] whose name I am going to place before you is named because of his eminent fitness alone, and not because he is a Jew. Needless to say, he is proud of being a Jew, and we Jews are proud of him."[^4] - The Republican candidate in the 1928 New York governor's election was the Jewish Albert Ottinger. ---- - When Governor Roosevelt ran and won the presidency in 1932, Lehman ran and won the governorship. - Lehman's Republican opponent was William "Bill" Donovan, a noted philo-semite and future founding father of the CIA. *Donovan made an effort to attend Jewish worship services as a college student.*[^5] - As New York's governor from 1933-1942, Lehman promoted FDR's progressive 'New Deal' flavor of politics on a state level. - Lehman promoted generous government social welfare programs, public housing, unionization, unemployment assistance, etc. - In 1937, Lehman appointed feminist Jewish labor activist Rose Schneiderman to be secretary of labor. - Schneiderman was a socialist Jewish immigrant and founding member of the [[ACLU]]. - New York under Lehman became one of the first states to implement anti-discrimination laws. - In March 1941, Lehman appointed a "Committee on Discrimination in Employment" to root out "discrimination of minorities, particularly of Blacks and Jews" in defense industry employment.[^7] - The impetus for anti-discrimination measures came largely Jewish legal figures like [[Nathan Perlman]] and George Medalie in conjunction with organized Jewish groups like the [[American Jewish Congress]], [[ACLU]], [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]], [[NAACP]]. *The pressure to enact anti-discrimination laws was described as a "black-Jewish alliance".*[^7] - The efforts of organized American Jewry in New York persisted after Lehman left office, finally culminating in the Ives-Quinn Act of 1945. - The Ives-Quinn Act was an landmark piece legislation that largely foreshadowed the looming Civil Rights Era.[^8] *The same Jewish organizations that secured the Ives-Quinn Act were instrumental in future Civil Rights legislation/court decisions.* #### Senator Lehman - Lehman unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate in 1946.[^6] - In 1949 Senator Robert Wagner resigned amid ailing health. Lehman won special election for Wagner's seat, and won a full six-year term in 1950. [^4][^1] - After his term in the senate, Lehman retired from public life. - As a Senator, Lehman was among the most ardently liberal voices at the federal level. - Lehman was a particularly liberal on immigration, opposing the strict admissions policy of the era.[^10] - Lehman, a Jew, invoked Nazi Germany to describe nativist and race-oriented immigration policy.[^10] - Lehman led a coalition of left wing congressmen in opposition to the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952.[^11][^12] - The McCarran-Walter Act restricted immigration and affirmed the national origins quota system first implemented in the Immigration Act of 1924. - President Truman vetoed the McCarran-Walter Act given its continuation of national origins quotas. - Congress overrode the president's veto with a supermajority voting in favor of the bill. - The McCarran-Walter Act was passed as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, reaffirming a nationwide favorability of immigration restriction and the use of national origins quotas. *The immigration-order was overthrown 13 years later amid the fervor of the civil rights movement and a barrage of legal pressure by largely Jewish organizations. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, known colloquially as the Hart-Celler Act, did away with national origins quotas. Almost immediately third world countries (starting in Asia) became the largest source of new immigrants, a drastic change from our prior majority Northern and Western European immigrants.[^13] Subsequent liberalization of federal immigration policy has come in the form of amendments to the 1965 Hart-Celler Act.* #### Lehman and Organized Jewry - Lehman was a longtime leader in the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)]].[^9] - He joined shortly after WWI and became chairman of its reconstruction committee. - He later became the JDC's honorary chairman. - Lehman was "one of the topmost leaders" of the:[^9] - [[UJA-Federation of New York|United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York]]. - [[National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ)|National Conference of Christians and Jews]] - [[Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS)]] - [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]][^16] - In 1957, Lehman orchestrated a massive celebration to commemorate 10 years since the founding of Israel.[^15] - The celebration, which was held in 1958, featured hundreds of American leaders, entertainers, religious figures, and Jewish communal leaders. - The event included Jewish figures like [[Israel Goldstein]], [[Jack Weiler]], [[Louis Lipsky]], and [[Abba Hillel Silver]].[^15] - A few years after his death in 1965, Lehman was eulogized at an [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]] event by Israeli Prime Minister [[Levi Eshkol]].[^14] - To honor the late statesman, Israel endowed a chair of molecular theoretical physics at the Israeli [[Weizmann Institute]]. *A truly bizarre choice to honor Lehman, more so given the [[Israel and the Nuclear Bomb|active covert Israeli nuclear program]] taking place at the time which was only possible due to Israeli penetration of American nuclear development. Even more bizarre is the presence of [[Abraham Feinberg]] at the AJC eulogy to Lehman. Feinberg was among the top Jewish financiers secretly funding the Israeli nuclear project. The Weizmann Institute produced many of Israel's top nuclear scientists. 1965 was also a particularly crucial year for the secret Israeli nuclear project.* #### References [^1]: “Herbert H. Lehman,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_H._Lehman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_H._Lehman). [^2]: Nathan Glazer, “Herbert H. Lehman of New York,” _Commentary_, May 1963, [https://www.commentary.org/articles/nathan-glazer-2/herbert-h-lehman-of-new-york/](https://www.commentary.org/articles/nathan-glazer-2/herbert-h-lehman-of-new-york/). [^3]: Duane Tananbaum, “Life and Legacy of Herbert H. Lehman,” adapted from _Herbert H. Lehman: A Life of Public Service_, Columbia University Libraries, [https://library.columbia.edu/libraries/rbml/collecting/american/lehman/biography.html](https://library.columbia.edu/libraries/rbml/collecting/american/lehman/biography.html). [^4]: “Lehman’s Election to New York Lieuteant Governorship Certain,” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, November 9, 1928, [https://www.jta.org/archive/lehmans-election-to-new-york-lieuteant-governorship-certain](https://www.jta.org/archive/lehmans-election-to-new-york-lieuteant-governorship-certain). [^5]: “William J. Donovan,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan). [^6]: “Herbert H. Lehman,” _Empire State Plaza & New York State Capitol_, [https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/hall-governors/herbert-h-lehman](https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/hall-governors/herbert-h-lehman). [^7]: Zvi Ganin, _The Jewish Response to Anti-Semitism in the Context of Intergroup Relations in Boston and New York City, 1938–1948_, Brandeis University, April 1971, pp. 63-66 [https://www.bjpa.org/content/upload/bjpa/the_/THE%20JEWISH%20RESPONSE%20ANTI-SEMETISM%20BOSTON%20AND%20NEW%20YORK%20CITY%201938-1948,%20ZVI%20GENIN.pdf](https://www.bjpa.org/content/upload/bjpa/the_/THE%20JEWISH%20RESPONSE%20ANTI-SEMETISM%20BOSTON%20AND%20NEW%20YORK%20CITY%201938-1948,%20ZVI%20GENIN.pdf). *This paper is a highly interesting read. It covers left wing Jewish efforts in the 1930s and 40s to fight 'racial and religious discrimination'. The paper illustrates how Jewish lawyers and organizations worked to influence state and local governments. The paper is a great insight into Jewish activity in New York in the 1930s-40s.* [^8]: “Ives–Quinn Act,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ives%E2%80%93Quinn_Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ives%E2%80%93Quinn_Act). [^9]: “Herbert H. Lehman Dies in New York; Mourned by Jewry; Funeral Sunday,” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, December 6, 1963, [https://www.jta.org/archive/herbert-h-lehman-dies-in-new-york-mourned-by-jewry-funeral-sunday](https://www.jta.org/archive/herbert-h-lehman-dies-in-new-york-mourned-by-jewry-funeral-sunday). [^10]: Catholic University Libraries, “The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Immigration,” section “1952 Legislation,” _Catholic University of America Library Guides_, [https://guides.lib.cua.edu/c.php?g=1412535&p=10462256](https://guides.lib.cua.edu/c.php?g=1412535&p=10462256). [^11]: “Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1952](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1952). [^12]: H. N. Rosenfield, “The Prospects for Immigration Amendments,” _Law and Contemporary Problems_ 21, no. 3 (1956): 402, [https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2682&context=lcp](https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2682&context=lcp). [^13]: “Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, § Immediate impact on quota immigrant admissions,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965#Immediate_impact_on_quota_immigrant_admissions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965#Immediate_impact_on_quota_immigrant_admissions). [^14]: “Looking Back and Looking Forward in 1965,” _WNYC | New York Public Radio_, December 22, 2016, [https://www.wnyc.org/story/looking-back-and-looking-forward-1965/](https://www.wnyc.org/story/looking-back-and-looking-forward-1965/). [^15]: “American Leaders Form Committee to Observe Israel’s 10th Anniversary,” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, April 8, 1958, [https://www.jta.org/archive/american-leaders-form-committee-to-observe-israels-10th-anniversary](https://www.jta.org/archive/american-leaders-form-committee-to-observe-israels-10th-anniversary [^16]: The Political Graveyard, “American Jewish Committee, politicians,” _The Political Graveyard_, [https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-jewish-comm.html](https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-jewish-comm.html). [^17]: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., “Scholarships: The Herbert Lehman and Earl Warren Scholarships,” _NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc._, [https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/ldf-scholarships](https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/ldf-scholarships). [^18]: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., “The Herbert Lehman Education Fund Scholarship,” _NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc._, [https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/scholarships/herbert-lehman-education-fund-scholarship/](https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/scholarships/herbert-lehman-education-fund-scholarship/).