The Max Naumann Story should teach the Indig and his Satmar Community that supporting a Vicious Antisemite will not bring them safety!

 

Max Naumann

Let me introduce you to a fellow named Max Naumann.

In 1934, Naumann, a German Jew, urged fellow Jews to support Adolf Hitler. He defended the Nazi regime even as it persecuted Jews, and actually petitioned Hitler for the right of Jews to fly the German flag.

In 1935, the Gestapo dissolved his organization and threw him in prison, where he attempted suicide. He died of cancer in 1939, before the Holocaust, but not before discovering how little his loyalty to the Nazis was worth.

I'm not comparing Mayor Mamzarani to Hitler. I'm questioning the idea that a Jewish endorsement is, by itself, evidence of what's best for Jewish safety.

From the Hellenizing Jewish elites of ancient Jerusalem to Jewish supporters of Iran's Islamic Revolution, we have examples throughout our history of Jews aligning themselves with political movements that ultimately turned against them.

Their motivations differed, as did the consequences. But there's a lesson in Max Naumann's story that's worth remembering.

Being Jewish has never made anyone immune to being catastrophically wrong about what's good for Jews.