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Title: Response of Orthodox Jewry in the United States: The Activities of the Vaad Ha-Hatzala Rescue Committee, 1939-1945 by Efraim Zuroff, Yehuda Bauer ISBN: 0-88125-666-8 Publisher: KTAV Publishing House Pub. Date: 02 May, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $49.38

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Courage and Scholarship Do Go together
Comment: In this remarkable tour de force, Dr. Zuroff unfolds the efforts of Orthodox Jewry in the United States to save elements of Eastern European Jewry during the dark years of the Holocaust. With skill, precision and not a small amount of empathy tempered by criticism and keen historical judgement, the author examines the successes and failures of the 'Vaad Hatzalah.' Zuroff's achievement is daunting on several counts. First, the integration of written, archival and oral testimony into a critically valid narrative is a singular achievement, per se, and one not sufficiently noted in the publicity surrounding the book at the time of its publication. Second, Zuroff's palpable commitment to truth and his passionate connection to the Holocaust and its victims lead him to approach his subject (ironically) with the dispassion of the historian. The result is that despite his being an Orthodox Jew himself, he does not allow sentiment to blind his judgement and portrays both the achievements and failures, selfless sacrifice and selfish short-sightedness which characterized the Vaad Hatzalah at various times. This unique vantage point is a refreshing break from the politicized hagiography of the Holocaust which is regnant in the Orthodox Jewish community. Finally, Zuroff's account is touching in that it makes it patently clear what type of impossible situation the leaders of American (and World) Jewry were, during the Dark years of World War II. Zuroff's book is a MUST read for anyone wishing to obtain a unique insight into a period impenetrable in its difficulty.

Rating: 5
Summary: An Unorthdox Response by the Orthodox
Comment: Despite the controversy in its press coverage, this book is a well balanced, well documented history of the Vaad-ha-Hatzala, the orthodox Jewish organization that rescued European Jews during the holocaust. A well written narrative, the book holds the reader's attention with its depiction of the desperate attempts at rescue as the Nazi noose tightens into the Final Solution. Equally spellbinding is Zuroff's exposition of the philosophical/ethical dilemmas raised by the Vaad's activities---whom to rescue when funds are limited? who gets priority? what legal principles can be violated when lives hang in the balance? is it better to cooperate with other organizations and preserve Jewish unity or to more effectively independently pursue the Vaad's limited priorities? Zuroff sympathetically portrays how the Vaad attempts to negotiate these issues during an unprecedented crisis. This is an important contribution not only to our understanding of the Holocaust but also to an appreciation of developments in post-Holocaust orthodox Jewry.

Rating: 5
Summary: A seminal, groundbreaking, definitive, scholarly study.
Comment: The Response Of Orthodox Jewry In The United States To The Holocaust is a seminal, groundbreaking study which shows how leading Orthodox rabbis made policy decisions on such holocaust issues as rescue priority and the attitude towards U.S. rules and regulations which they felt were detrimental to their rescue initiatives. Effraim Zuroff fully documents the struggles between various American Jewish rescue agencies and how these internecine conflicts affective rescue activities. Zuroff also describes the role played by Orthodox groups in their efforts to unite American Jewry regarding the Nazi "Final Solution" and why Orthodox rabbis preferred their own rescue agenda over all others.