(AMERICAN JUDAICA).

“It is because the life of this land and the life of its Jewish citizens are so woven one into the other that they cannot be separated…Thus, knowing the value of freedom and justice, Jews are willing to die to preserve these ideals in America and in the world” - The Story of the Jews in the United States, p. 32 While catering to the religious needs of the Jewish serviceman, the “Kit” provided by the Jewish Welfare Board, a member of the U[nited] S[ervice] O[rganizations], also served to bolster American patriotism. Thus, the Jewish Calendar comes with a preface, “The Jews in the Wars of the United States,” containing valuable statistics: The total number of Jews in the services during World War I was 200,000-225,000, a disproportionately high percentage considering the Jewish population of the country. Of that number, nearly 40,000 or 20% were volunteers. No less than 1,100 citations for valor had been awarded to Americans of Jewish faith. There were nearly 10,000 Jewish commissioned officers in the several branches of the service, etc. It is also quite likely that these statistics came to restore pride to Jewish servicemen constantly subjected to the antisemitic canard, “You will never find a Jew on the front line.”