Tag Archives: UN

Jew of the Week: Bernard Baruch

Bernard Baruch

Bernard Mannes Baruch (1870-1965) was born in South Carolina to German-Jewish immigrants. His father was a doctor specializing in hydrotherapy and appendectomies, and a key military surgeon in the Civil War. The family moved to New York City, where Baruch first worked as an office boy for $3 a week. After college, he became a stock broker and made a fortune trading sugar (though he would lose and regain his fortune several times). By 30, he was among the most successful financiers of all time, nicknamed “The Lone Wolf of Wall Street” as he worked independently and resisted joining a financial house. In 1916, Baruch left finance and became an adviser to President Woodrow Wilson. He was soon the chairman of the War Industries Board and managed America’s economic mobilization for World War I. At the end of the war, Baruch attended the Paris Peace Conference and was a central supporter of the League of Nations (the precursor of the UN). Baruch continued to advice future presidents, including Roosevelt, whom he helped to create the National Recovery Administration for fair business, industry and labour practices. After World War II, Baruch worked at the UN, particularly to stem nuclear arms proliferation. He would be sought as an adviser until the last days of his life, counselling a total of nine American presidents. He was famous for discussing global issues and politics while sitting on public benches in Central Park (in NYC) and Lafayette Park (in Washington, DC) and was thus called the “Park Bench Statesman”. Baruch was also a noted philanthropist throughout his life, contributing millions to charities and colleges. Click here to learn a few investment tips from Bernard Baruch.

Words of the Week

There are free men with the spirit of a slave, and slaves whose spirit is full of freedom. He who is true to his inner self is a free man, while he whose entire life is merely a stage for what is good and beautiful in the eyes of others, is a slave.
– Rabbi Avraham Itzhak Kook

Jew of the Week: Abba Eban

The Zionist

Abba Eban

Aubrey Shlomo Meir Eban (1915-2002) Known as “Abba Eban”, this South African Jew was fluent in 10 languages, including Hebrew and Arabic, making him the ideal spy. As an intelligence officer, he rose to the rank of Major in the British Army, while also working diligently for the World Zionist Congress and being editor of the journal The Young Zionist. He worked at the UN for over a decade, where he was instrumental in passing Resolution 181 (the partition plan). Aside from this, he was ambassador to the US, deputy prime minister of Israel, minister of foreign affairs, education, culture and a long serving member of the Knesset. He wrote 9 books and received the Israel Prize.

Words of the Week

Marriage is giving it your all, but recognizing you are only half.
– Chassidic Sages

Jew of the Week: Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel

Binyamin Netanyahu (b. 1949) Two-time prime minister of Israel, he fought in both the 1967 and ’73 wars. Netanyahu was a special forces operative in the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit for five years, participating in some of Israel’s most daring missions. His political career started off as ambassador to the U.N. Later he would serve as Israel’s finance minister, foreign minister, health minister, pension affairs minister and economic strategy minister. Netanyahu holds a B.Sc in architecture and an M.Sc in business from MIT and studied political science at Harvard. While in America, he went by the name Ben Nitay, a reference to the Talmudic sage Nitay HaArbeli, whose most famous dictum is “Distance yourself from a bad neighbour, do not associate with a wicked person and do not despair of retribution.” (Pirkei Avot 1:7) Interestingly, Netanyahu is the only Israeli prime minister in history to have actually been born in Israel. He has written five books. He is also a descendant of the Vilna Gaon.

UPDATE: Since this post was first published in 2011, Netanyahu has become Israel’s longest-service prime minister. Over his tenure, Israel has experienced some of its greatest economic and population growth; significantly strengthened its borders and reduced the number of terror victims; and managed to sign multiple peace treaties with Arab neighbours.

UPDATE 2: Netanyahu’s tenure as Israel’s prime minister ended on June 13, 2021. He served for a total of 15 years and 92 days, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history.

From the History Vault

The church and the government of Rome set Wednesday, March 6, 1430, as the day when all the Jews of Rome must convert or face death. On that day a massive earthquake struck Rome and many of the archbishops and priests who conceived the decree were killed. Following the earthquake, Pope Martin V annulled the decree.