Yesterday’s newsletter discussed some of Britain’s Jewish World War II heroes. Since last week marked the 80th anniversary of the Allied defeat of Germany, it’s also worth paying some attention to the Jews who fought in other national armies. In an interview by Ran Puni, Tamar Katko tells the stories of several such individuals, among them Corporal Samuel Elyakim Schwartz:

Schwartz came from an Orthodox Jewish family that immigrated from Hungary to the U.S. in 1939. He didn’t fit in at the yeshiva due to behavioral issues, so he found himself wandering the streets without knowing a word of English. When World War II broke out, friends from the neighborhood suggested he enlist with them.

He volunteered for the 82nd Airborne Division and served as a paratrooper in the headquarters company of the 504th Regiment. He was trained in special forces and emerged as a brave paratrooper and commander who carried out operations in enemy territory under constant life-threatening conditions. Among other missions, he participated in battles in North Africa, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, and in Germany. With his unit comrades, he rescued several Holocaust survivors at Dachau and brought them to the U.S. for treatment after the war. For his actions, he received dozens of medals for bravery, and he is even buried with his wife in Jerusalem.

After the war, Schwartz said nothing of his exploits to his family, and his children were adults before they had any inkling of his heroism.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.