Dear Friends,
As a New Yorker born and bred, and as my credit card with testify, one of
my favorite places is Macy's Department store.
Little did I realize the rich part in Jewish history played by one of the
two Jewish brothers who founded it. And the amazing hand of fate.
Naomi Ragen
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Macy's and Israel
At the turn of the twentieth century, two of the wealthiest and most famous
men in America were a pair of Jewish brothers named Nathan and Isidor
Straus. Owners of R.H. Macy's Department Store and founders of the
A&S(Abraham & Straus) chain, the brothers were multimillionaires, renowned
for their philanthropy and social activism.
In 1912, the brothers and their wives were touring Europe, when Nathan, the
more ardent Zionist of the two, impulsively said one day: "Hey, why don't we
hop over to Palestine?"
Isidor and Nathan Straus
Israel wasn't the tourist hotspot then that it is today. Its population was
ravaged by disease, famine, and poverty; but the two had a strong sense of
solidarity with their less fortunate brethren, and they also wanted to see
the health and welfare centers they had endowed with their millions.
However, after a week spent touring, Isidor Straus had had enough. "How many
camels, hovels, and yeshivas can you see? It's time to go," Isidor decreed
with edgy impatience in his voice. But Nathan refused to heed his brother's
imperious command. It wasn't that he was oblivious to the hardships around
him; it was precisely because of them that he wanted to stay.
Ottoman Palestine, 1912
As he absorbed firsthand the vastness of the challenges his fellow Jews were
coping with, he felt the burden of responsibility. "We can't leave now," he
protested. "Look how much work has to be done here. We have to help. We have
the means to help. We can't turn our backs on our people." "So we'll send
more money," his brother snapped back. "I just want to get out of here."
But Nathan felt that money simply wasn't enough. He felt that the Jews who
lived under such dire circumstances in Palestine needed the brothers' very
presence among them: their initiative, their leadership, and their ideas.
Isidor disagreed. The two argued back and forth, and finally Isidor said,
"If you insist, stay here. Ida and I are going back to America where we
belong."
The two separated. Isidor and his wife returned to Europe, while Nathan and
his spouse stayed in Palestine, traveling the country and contributing huge
sums of money to the establishment of education, health, and social welfare
programs to benefit the needy.
Natanya, Israel
Nathan also financed the creation of a brand-new city on the shores of the
Mediterranean. And since his name in Hebrew was Natan, and he was the city's
chief donor, the founders named it after him and called it...Natanya.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, Isidor Straus was preparing to sail home to
America aboard an ocean liner for which he had also made reservations for
his brother, Nathan, and his wife. "You must leave Palestine NOW!" he cabled
his brother in an urgent telegram. "I have made reservations for you and if
you don't get here soon, you'll miss the boat." But Nathan delayed.
There was so much work to be done that he waited until the last possible
moment to make the connection. By the time he reached London, it was April
12 and the liner had already left port in
Southampton with Isidor and Ida Straus aboard.
Nathan felt disconsolate that he had, as his brother had warned, "missed the
boat." For this was no ordinary expedition, no common, every day cruise that
he had forfeited, but the much ballyhooed maiden voyage of the most famous
ship of the century. This was the Titanic.
The Titanic leaving Belfast Harbour
Nathan Straus, grief-stricken and deeply mourning his brother and
sister-in-law could not shake off his sense that he had had a rendezvous
with history. The knowledge that he had avoided death permeated his
consciousness for the rest of his life, and until his death in l931, he
pursued his philanthropic activities with an intensity that was unrivaled in
his time.
Today, Natanya is a scenic resort city of 200,000 and headquarters to
Israel's thriving diamond trade - one of the most important industries in
the country. And in almost every part of the city, there is some small
reminder of Nathan Straus's largesse, his humanity, and love for his people.
His legacy lives on.
Otto Frank
Nathan's son (Nathan Jr., 1889-1961) attended Princeton University and
arrived in Heidelberg University in 1908 where he met a young art history
scholar named Otto Frank. Otto accepted a job in Macy's with Nathan Straus,
Jr., where he fell in love with New York and its brashness. But in 1909,
Otto's father died and he returned to Germany where he fought in World War I
and lived to see the time when he and his family would have to leave Germany
because of anti-Semitism. One of Otto's daughters was Anne Frank.
Anne Frank
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