2025-09-11 11:36 PM <br/> Tags: #AmericanJewry #people #ReligiousJudaism #EarlyZionism ![[image-124.png|328x362]] # Jonah Wise (1881-1959) - Jonah Wise was a prominent Reform Judaism rabbi in the United States. - Jonah Wise was the son of Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of Reform Judaism in the United States. - Wise's sister Effie Wise married New York Times owner [[Adolph Ochs]]. - Ochs gained ownership of the Times in 1896 at a very low price due to economic hardships of the period. - Ochs' descendants have ran the NYT ever since. - In 1907, Wise began his 19 years leading Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue in Portland, Oregon. - He succeeded rabbi [[Stephen S. Wise]] (no relation). - While in Portland, Wise worked closely with the [[National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)]] on matters of immigrant-assistance. - Wise was a socially progressive Jewish figure of the era. - Wise argued for unionization, immigration, minority rights, etc. - In 1925, Wise began his tenure as the chief rabbi for New York's Central Synagogue. - Wise spent the remaining 34 years of his life leading the Central Synagogue. - In 1931, Wise became the head of the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)]]. - As soon as [[Hitler]] ascended to power in 1933, Wise and the JDC organized total opposition and mass Jewish emigration from Germany. - In 1934, Wise began the religious Judaic broadcast *Message of Israel*. - *Message of Israel* was among the first major Jewish radio broadcasts. >[!info] United Jewish Appeal - In 1939, Wise with the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)|JDC]] co-founded [[United Jewish Appeal (UJA)]]. - The other UJA founders: - Jewish business magnate [[William Rosenwald]], who ran the National Coordinating Committee Fund. - [[Abba Hillel Silver]] of [[United Israel Appeal]]. - The UJA served as the primary fundraising umbrella for the many Jewish organizations. - The UJA initially sent money to European Jews to help them escape during WWII. - Wise served as UJA national chairman from 1939-1958. - Under Wise, the UJA became the dominant Jewish federation-style fundraising apparatus in the United States and the United States became dominant fundraiser of world Jewry. - The UJA was critical in funding the later years of the [[Yishuv]]. - The UJA was critical in funding Israel in its early years and still to this day. - UJA/Jewish-federation funding rises sharply during Israeli conflict, which the many Jewish groups heavily exploit for fundraising purposes. --- - Wise did not start out as a Zionist. - As an authority figure in Reform Judaism, Wise viewed Judaism as a religious association and not a national one. - By the early 1940s Wise, along with the broader Reform Judaism world, began to embrace Zionism. - Post WWII Wise was in full support of Zionism. #### References - Eisenberg, Ellen. “Jonah B. Wise (1881–1959).” _The Oregon Encyclopedia_. Portland State University, June 8, 2023. [https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/wise_rabbi_jonah_b/](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/wise_rabbi_jonah_b/). - “Wise, Jonah Bondi.” _Encyclopedia Judaica_, via Encyclopedia.com. [https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wise-jonah-bondi](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wise-jonah-bondi?). - “Jonah Wise.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Wise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Wise?). - “Rabbi Jonah B. Wise Dies at 77; Was Leader of J.D.C. and U.J.A.” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, February 3, 1959. [https://www.jta.org/archive/rabbi-jonah-b-wise-dies-at-77-was-leader-of-j-d-c-and-u-j-a](https://www.jta.org/archive/rabbi-jonah-b-wise-dies-at-77-was-leader-of-j-d-c-and-u-j-a?). - Central Synagogue. “Our Senior Rabbis: Rabbi Dr. Jonah B. Wise (1926–1959).” [https://centralsynagogue.org/about-us/our-history/our-senior-rabbis](https://centralsynagogue.org/about-us/our-history/our-senior-rabbis?). - “United Jewish Communities-United Jewish Appeal (UJA).” _Jewish Virtual Library_. [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/united-jewish-communities](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/united-jewish-communities?). - “Jewish Federations of North America.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Federations_of_North_America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Federations_of_North_America?). - “Adolph Ochs.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Ochs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Ochs?).