Episode 24 - Lincoln and the Jews with Professor Jonathan D. Sarna

Two Nice Jewish Boys

Eytan and Naor

Society & Culture

1.7 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2017

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This Sunday is the birthday of the iconic 16th American President and it turns out that Abraham Lincoln was in fact a pretty good friend of the Jews (at a time when it wasn’t necessarily so popular to befriend the “Hebrews”). Abraham Jonas, who the president himself described as his “most valued friend”, was first to advise Lincoln to run for president. Issachar Zacherie, foot-doctor and spy, alleviated many a pains on Lincoln's feet but also helped the president secure his second election. These, and many others, are a testament to the important relationship between Lincoln and the American Jewish community. In celebration of Lincoln's 208th birthday, Two Nice Jewish Boys visited the Giv'at Ram campus of the Hebrew University for a special episode with Professor Jonathan Sarna. Professor Sarna’s newest book “Lincoln and the Jews” is a fascinating biography examining the former president’s close ties with the Jews of his time. The historical narrative is accompanied by Benjamin Shapell’s vast and gripping collection of rare documents and photographs which really transport the reader in a way that few historical non-fiction books manage to do. Tune into our latest episode to hear about all this and more.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Live from Tel Aviv, two nice Jewish boys, Aitin Weinstein, and Nutt or Miniger.
0:11.5	And now once again, we're live from Jerusalem.
0:15.7	Hello, Aiton.
0:16.5	Hello. You caught me by surprise.
0:18.7	Sorry, yeah.
0:19.8	Four score and seven years ago is a phrase that has been ingrained in American collective consciousness for over a century and a half.
0:27.8	Abraham Lincoln chose these words to open his historic Gettysburg address in 1863, commemorating one of the harshest battles of the Civil War.
0:37.2	But could Lincoln have been inspired by the words of Sabato Morayas, the Jewish leader of the
0:43.3	Mikve Israel congregation, who had uttered these very words four months earlier while addressing
0:48.6	his congregants in Philadelphia.
0:51.0	Apparently, it's a possibility.
0:52.7	From Abraham Jonas, a lawyer whoincoln described as his most valued friend
0:57.5	to isa chahar zachary a mysterious spying foot doctor lincoln's list of jewish friends was not a short one
1:04.2	here to talk to us about this is professor jonathan sarna professor sarna is the professor of
1:09.9	american jewish history at Brandeis
1:11.7	University in Massachusetts. His latest book, Lincoln and the Jews, is a fascinating account
1:17.7	of the 16th American president's relationship with Judaism and the Jewish people. Hi, Professor.
1:23.7	Hello, Professor. Thank you so much for being here with us. Pleasure to be with you. So today's actually, it's a special episode because it happens to coincide with Lincoln's
1:33.3	208th birthday, right, on Sunday, coming Sunday.
1:38.3	12th, right.
1:39.3	In February the 12th.
1:40.3	It's quite a coincidence.
	...

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