2025-10-26 11:20:PM <br/> Tags: #people #KeyPeople #AmericanJewry #EarlyZionism #WorldJewry #Lobby ![[image-159.png|281x402]] # Nahum Goldmann (1895-1982) - Nahum Goldmann was a highly influential early Zionist leader in the United States. - Goldmann was a Jewish immigrant to the United States, born in the Tzarist Russian Empire. - Goldmann is the founder of the [[World Jewish Congress]]. - Goldmann's Zionism was founded on an absolute rejection of Jewish assimilation into their host countries. - Goldmann advocated for an active and strong Jewish diaspora with the state of Israel as their eternal core. #### European Zionist Beginnings - Goldmann first interacted with organized Zionist Jewry when he attended the 10th [[World Zionist Organization]] Congress in 1911. - Goldmann attended with his father, a staunch Zionist. - In 1913 Goldmann visited [[Yishuv|Jewish Palestine]] for the first time. - During WWI, Goldmann returned to Germany (his family moved there around 1901) and worked for the German *Intelligence Bureau for the East*. - The bureau worked to subvert and exploit Oriental (India, Ottoman Empire, Egypt, etc.) nationalist movements for the purpose of combatting British and French influence in the region. - In 1922, Goldmann launched a Zionist publishing house called _Eschkol_. - From 1928-1934 *Eschkol* published an *Encyclopedia Judaica*. - *Encyclopedia Judaica* was forced to shut down in 1934 by the Germans. - As stated in his [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] eulogy, "Goldmann was a prominent member of virtually every international Zionist and Jewish organization since coming into prominence in 1927." - In 1935, Germany revoked Goldmann's citizenship. - Goldmann initially became a citizen of Honduras. - Goldmann relocated to New York in 1940. #### Goldmann in the United States - In 1936, Goldmann and American Jewish leader rabbi [[Stephen S. Wise]] formed the [[World Jewish Congress]]. - The WJC was formed with the express purpose of uniting global Jewry to fight Nazi Germany. - Goldmann was the first chairman of the executive board of the WJC. - Goldmann was the WJC president from 1949-1977. - Goldmann relocated to the United States in 1940. - At this time he began working as a US representative of the [[Jewish Agency]] (governing body of Jewish Palestine). - In this position Goldmann advised the Jewish Agency's executive chairman [[David Ben-Gurion]]. - In the 1930s and 40s Goldmann's Zionist activity and associates made him a close ally of the [[Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)]]. - Goldmann often worked with ZOA leaders like, [[Louis Lipsky]], [[Abba Hillel Silver]], and [[Stephen S. Wise]]. - In 1942, Goldmann was involved in convening the Biltmore Conference, a replacement for the Zionist Congress which was halted due to WWII. - The Biltmore Conference resulted in the [[Biltmore Program]]. - During the between 1945 and 1948, Goldmann was among the most influential Jewish lobbyists lobbying the Truman administration for recognition of the future state of Israel - Around 1954, Goldmann and [[B'nai B'rith]] leader [[Philip Klutznick]] formed the [[Conference of Presidents]]. - The Conference of Presidents is the umbrella organization for the roughly 50 largest American Jewish groups. #### Goldmann and Israel - In 1952, Goldmann led negotiations with Germany for holocaust reparations on behalf of Israeli Prime Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]]. - Goldmann is the architect of holocaust reparations. - Goldmann convened a 1951 meeting of 23 Jewish organizations in New York to discuss their plan to extort west Germany for reparation money. - The 1951 meeting resulted in the formation of the [[Claims Conference]]. - Goldmann secured the first deal with Germany; Germany would pay ~3.45 billion Deutschmarks (~$820 million) to Israel. - The [[World Jewish Congress]] became a conduit for some of the German reparations. This is not the last time the WJC played a role in Germany-holocaust extortion. - Goldmann became president of the [[World Zionist Organization]] in 1956, a position he held until 1968. - In 1959, the [[World Jewish Congress]] founded a museum dedicated to the Jewish diaspora. - The museum is located in Tel-Aviv and was originally called Beth Hatefutsot - Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora. - The museum has since been renamed to Anu - Museum of the Jewish People. - In 1962 Goldmann became a citizen of Israel. - Goldmann died in 1982. He is buried on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives. #### References - Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Nahum Goldmann Dead at 87.” _JTA_, August 31, 1982. [https://www.jta.org/archive/nahum-goldmann-dead-at-87](https://www.jta.org/archive/nahum-goldmann-dead-at-87). - Nahum Goldmann. _Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia_. “Nahum Goldmann.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahum_Goldmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahum_Goldmann) - “Anu – Museum of the Jewish People.” _Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anu_%E2%80%93_Museum_of_the_Jewish_People](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anu_%E2%80%93_Museum_of_the_Jewish_People) - “Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.” _Jewish Virtual Library_. [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/conference-of-presidents-of-major-american-jewish-organizations](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/conference-of-presidents-of-major-american-jewish-organizations) - World Jewish Congress. “Nahum Goldmann.” [https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/bio/nahum-goldmann](https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/bio/nahum-goldmann) - Britannica. “Nahum Goldmann.” _Encyclopedia Britannica_. [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nahum-Goldmann](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nahum-Goldmann). - Heideman, Yael Elana. “An Extraordinary Zionist Conference. New York, 1942.” _Israel Forever Blog_. [https://israelforever.org/interact/blog/an_extraordinary_zionist_conference_new_york_1942/](https://israelforever.org/interact/blog/an_extraordinary_zionist_conference_new_york_1942/)