In 1893, a young nurse from Rochester, NY named Lillian Wald met with Jacob Schiff—then one of America’s leading financiers and the most prominent figure in New York City’s Jewish community—to discuss a proposal for a charitable organization that would deliver home medical care and training in self-help to the impoverished immigrant residents of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Impressed by Wald, Schiff helped her found the Visiting Nurses Service, initiating three decades of cooperation in philanthropic endeavors that would revolutionize the provision of assistance to the urban poor. Susan Hertog writes:

Jacob Schiff, the Frankfurt-born son of a financier from a long line of rabbinic sages, was a Jewish aristocrat with the thirst for knowledge of a talmudic scholar. . . . [Herself born] into a family of German-Jewish entrepreneurs, [Wald] understood the landscape of [Schiff’s] mind. She knew that first and foremost, he was an investor with his eye on the bottom line, and this attitude permeated all of his philanthropic endeavors. An immigrant of her parents’ generation, Schiff saw his generosity toward Jewish charities and institutions as integral to his gratitude to America for his economic success. As a strictly observant Jew, he believed it was his duty to give 10 percent of his income to his community—amounting to a very generous total. . . .

Hitherto, [however], Schiff had contributed to charities and organizations from above, acting both as fundraiser and treasurer, antiseptically if good heartedly, using his financial skills and personal connections to foster the acculturation and settlement of immigrants, predominantly but not exclusively Jewish. . . .

In the wake of [several] miscarried efforts [to alleviate the suffering of immigrant Jews], Wald’s vision of home nursing seemed to get to the heart of the problem—a community-based institution devoted to the needs of immigrants. Wald’s plans were focused and tangible, and her youth and resolve moved Schiff. Perhaps most important, he sensed that he could supervise, instruct, and sway her in a way that suited him and would achieve their common ends. Wald was smart and ambitious, open, unspoiled, and willing to learn. While this may seem paternalistic [to modern sensibilities], one must remember that it was unheard of in his social circles for a man to partner with a woman [in this sort of endeavor]. But Lillian Wald was like no other woman Jacob Schiff had ever met.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.