Abba Hillel Silver
Abba Hillel Silver was an American rabbi and Zionist leader. He was a key figure in the mobilization of American support for the founding of the State of Israel.
Biography
Born as Abraham Silver in Naumiestis, located in the Suwałki Governorate of Congress Poland, which was part of the Russian Empire, he was the son and grandson of Orthodox rabbis and was brought to the United States at the age of nine. A Zionist from his youth, he made his first speech at a Zionist meeting at age fourteen. Educated in the public schools and after-school Jewish schools of New York City's Lower East Side, he left after high school to attend the Hebrew Union College and the University of Cincinnati. After graduating as valedictorian of his HUC class and his ordination in 1915—and now known as Abba Hillel Silver—he served as rabbi of a small congregation, Leshem Shomayim, in West Virginia, Silver wrote:Silver was a leading proponent of Zionism in America and met with President Harry S. Truman several times to discuss his views until his uncompromising manner caused friction with the White House, leading to estrangement from the Truman White House, including Truman's appearance on national television to announce the formation of the State of Israel. The story of his pounding on Harry Truman's desk at the White House, however, after much research by Rafael Medoff, has been shown to be untrue.
By rallying both Jewish and non-Jewish support, and fostering a relationship with the Republican Party that led to the inclusion of a pro-Israel plank in their 1948 platform, Silver forced Truman to support Israel and to recognize the country immediately after it declared its independence.
A nationally-known orator and author of many scholarly works, including important studies of the history of Jewish-Christian relations, Silver also served as head of many Jewish and Zionist organizations.
He died on November 28, 1963, and was interred at Mayfield Cemetery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.