A History of Tough Jews

Breaking History

The Free Press

History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After October 7, Jews around the world were reminded of an old, unsettling truth: Governments do not always protect minorities when mobs turn violent. From Bondi Beach to New York synagogues, the promise of public order has looked increasingly fragile. In this episode of Breaking History, Eli Lake revisits the last time Jews in America confronted that reality head-on. In the 1930s, as Nazi sympathizers rallied openly and police often stood aside, Jewish gangsters led by Meyer Lansky took matters into their own hands, waging a quiet street war against the German American Bund. What does Jewish self-defense look like when the state fails—and why are there no Meyer Lanskys today? A history of tough Jews, broken illusions, and what happens when people decide they will no longer be easy targets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey Sainsbury's, I'm having a big party.
0:02.1	Got any finger food that won't cost an arm and a leg? We do. All our Sainsbury's party food is three for two with nectar. Like our taste the difference, crispy mushroom tartlets, mini-waggy beef cheeseburgers or crispy chicken bow buns. That will get them coming back for seconds. And thirds. Want to save big on party pleases? Ask Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's Good Food for All of Us.
0:23.0	18 plus, next required. Want to save big on party pleasers? Ask Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's good food for all of us.
0:23.2	18 plus, next required, cheapest product free, available in store and online, excluding locals, subject to availability, teas and sees apply.
0:30.1	Welcome back, listeners, and happy Hanukkah. In this episode, we dive into a dilemma for the Jewish people that goes back to the original destruction
0:39.8	of the first temple of antiquity. What do the chosen people do when the government cannot or
0:47.3	will not protect them from their hateful neighbors? In the 1930s, a few tough Jews took matters into
0:56.1	their own hands that were
0:58.0	bald into fists.
1:00.5	Sayy Poo Ball and Backlabel.
1:04.9	The pod you got
1:06.5	this next year's model.
1:09.2	Lee Harvey-Arming Berlin
1:12.6	What happened once happens again
1:16.6	When news up is a miss It's impossible. It's impossible I was holding somebody's child because he was screaming I was saving this child.
1:51.0	This is a time of calm.
1:56.0	This is a time where I want to make sure that there is no retribution.
2:00.0	The police are investigating
2:01.7	thoroughly. We have acted promptly. We have taken decisive action. Could I just ask for calm
2:08.4	in the community, allow the police to do our job. This was the scene at Bondi Beach, Australia,
2:15.2	after a celebration on the first night of Hanukkah, a father and son
2:19.0	began opening fire. It was horror, all the more horrible, because according to witnesses,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Free Press, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Free Press and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.