Jacob Schiff: A Most Honorable Jew

To this day, Jacob Schiff (1847-1920) is noted for being the most generous benefactor of Jewish causes in the history of the United States. A titan in the world of international finance and the most prominent German-Jewish businessman of his era, he was a leader in the Jewish community and an outspoken voice against anti-Semitism.

Schiff founded major Jewish organizations including the Joint Distribution Committee (“The Joint”), the leading global Jewish humanitarian aid organization today. He was also a major fiscal contributor to the endeavors of noted social activists such as Emma Lazarus; Lillian Wald, founder of the Henry Street Settlement and the Visiting Nurse Service; and Annie Nathan Meyer, who founded Barnard College.

An extremely generous and hands-on philanthropist, he was tremendously involved in rescuing Jews from pogroms and personally financed the Galveston Movement, which rescued nearly 10,000 Eastern European Jews and safely brought them to the U.S. via the Port of Galveston, Texas.

Join this new talk on Zoom by Justin Ferate. Justin will explain how Schiff’s benefactions, which included a wide range of causes both Jewish and non-Jewish — such as social betterment for women, African Americans, the Deaf, unskilled workers, Jewish juvenile delinquents, and all Americans in general — transformed this nation. Many of the institutions that he founded and/or financed continue to enrich the landscapes of our country even today, earning him the much-deserved title of “An Honorable Jew.