ABSTRACT
Despite the many well-placed Jews in high places, the effort to enlist the Roosevelt administration in the rescue of European Jewry was not successful. In contrast, there were fewer infl uential Jews in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations, yet the campaign to “free” Soviet Jewry was effective. The projection of American Jewish power acting together with Israel seemingly compelled the reluctant Soviet government to release its Jews.1 For the untrained eye, the confrontation with a regnant totalitarian power may seem analogous, but historical context make comparisons misleading.
