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Throughout history, the Jewish People have been underestimated, marginalized, and, at times, brutally oppressed.
And yet, time and again, we have demonstrated an extraordinary ability to rise above adversity, build resilience, and establish deep networks of influence. While we do not hold absolute power — no one does — we have cultivated relationships, influence, and strategic positioning in ways that make us an undeniable force on the world stage.
The lesson should be clear by now, especially to those who position themselves as adversaries: Don’t mess with the Jews.
The modern State of Israel, despite its miniscule size, has cultivated power disproportionate to its numbers. This is not by accident. The Jewish People have learned the hard way that survival requires more than hope; it unapologetically requires strategy, intelligence, and strength. With an unparalleled intelligence network, elite military capabilities, and strategic alliances, the Jewish People’s state and the institutions Israelis have built command serious respect.
Consider the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Mossad, and Shin Bet — three of the most effective and feared security organizations in the world. Their operations, both known and unknown, have altered the course of history.
If the mission was to topple the Iranian regime tomorrow, the question is not if. It is when and from which of Israel’s many options. That they have not does not reflect inability, but rather strategic restraint and realpolitik calculations. No regime on earth is beyond the reach of Israeli intelligence and military prowess.
Jewish resilience and military prowess are not modern phenomena. They are deeply rooted in history, with legendary Jewish warriors rising up in times of crisis. Perhaps the most famous of these were the Maccabees, a family of Jewish fighters who led the revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.
Facing overwhelming odds, they waged a guerrilla war that culminated in the miraculous recapture of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Their victory, celebrated today as Hanukkah, was not just a religious triumph — it was a testament to Jewish military strength, strategy, and sheer determination.
The Maccabees were far from the only Jewish warriors to shape history. During the Bar Kokhba revolt (132 to 136 CE), Jewish fighters, led by Simon Bar Kokhba, mounted one of the fiercest rebellions against the mighty Roman Empire.
Despite their eventual defeat, the Jewish resistance inflicted massive casualties on Rome, leading Emperor Hadrian to take extreme measures, including renaming Judea to “Syria Palaestina” in an attempt to erase Jewish identity from the land. But Rome fell, and the Jewish People endured; today “Syria Palaestina” is the State of Israel, and rightfully so.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Jewish communities faced persecution across Europe, often forced to defend themselves against pogroms and crusaders. In the 20th century, Jewish partisans in Nazi-occupied Europe — many of them armed with little more than homemade weapons — fought back against the Wehrmacht, organizing daring raids, sabotaging supply lines, and saving countless Jewish lives. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 remains one of the most heroic acts of resistance in modern history, proving yet again that Jews do not go down without a fight.
And yet, the strength of Jewish influence is not limited to physical might. It extends into diplomacy, finance, media, and governance. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, from Washington D.C. to many capitals across the world, Jewish networks and relationships are deeply woven into the fabric of global decision-making.
This is not some shadowy conspiracy; it is the product of generations of strategic thinking, cultural emphasis on education, and an understanding of power dynamics that has been honed over centuries.
Take, for example, U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s approach to Gaza and Middle East policy. While Trump himself may not be deeply ideological, key figures around him are — most notably his son-in-law Jared Kushner. An ardent Zionist, Kushner played a crucial role in shaping the Abraham Accords and pushing policies that strengthened Israel’s hand in the region during Trump’s first stint in the White House.
This time around, Kushner technically does not have a position in Trump’s administration, but you can bet your bottom dollar that his presence will still be felt. Political influence is not always about official titles; it’s about relationships, strategic whispers in the right ears, and the ability to shape discourse from behind the scenes. Kushner, with his deep connections to both Trump and Israel, will undoubtedly continue to wield influence, whether directly or indirectly — as he should.
This is just one example of Jews in high places. From finance to tech, media to government, Jewish influence is deeply embedded in the highest echelons of power. It is not the result of conspiracy, but of an ingrained culture of excellence, perseverance, and strategic foresight that has positioned Jews as indispensable players on the world stage.
Here’s another one of my favorite stories: In 1938, Nathan D. Perlman — a justice of the Court of Special Sessions of the City of New York — called up notorious Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky to ask him for a favor: to direct Jewish gangsters to violently break up meetings of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization for Americans of German origin.
“I want you to do anything but kill them,” Perlman told Lansky, prompting the organized crime boss to tell his associates that they could “marinate” but not “ice” those who showed up at Bund meetings, rallies, and marches, where speakers spewed Jew-hatred.1
Lansky gave his comrades the license to use more than their fists, though. Baseball bats, clubs, and other street fighting paraphernalia were fair game. Guns were out of bounds, as were the ice picks, the preferred weapon of killer Abraham “Kid Twist” Reles.
Over time, Perlman secretly directed an “army” led by Jewish gangsters across the United States in a successful campaign to squelch two key American Nazi organizations, the Bund and the Silver Legion (better known as the Silver Shirts) — while giving these organizations the extrajudicial punitive treatment.
Approximately 100 antisemitic groups operated throughout the U.S. during the Great Depression. During an era before hate laws were in effect, these Jew-hating organizations were thoroughly protected by the freedom of speech granted by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. As a result, they operated openly with impunity. (Sounds like “pro-Palestinian” organizations today, does it not?)
Back then, the German American Bund promoted antisemitism alongside its pro-Nazi and pro-isolationist agenda, and was closely aligned with antisemitic demagogue and radio personality Father Charles Coughlin’s Christian Front. They said that the Jews were all Communists and they had all the money, which came as quite a shock to a lot of American Jews.2
While the Bund was really looking to Germany and propagandizing for the Nazi regime, it claimed to be a pro-American organization. American Jews and community leaders were concerned and frightened. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration tried to act against pro-Nazi groups whenever and wherever possible, but there was nothing they could legally do to shut them down. (Again, sounds like “pro-Palestinian” organizations today, does it not?)
Fed up with the situation, Perlman took matters into his own hands. As a former congressman and justice of the Court of Special Sessions of the City of New York, his role in intimidating law-abiding Americans would have to be kept on the down-low. So he requested the aid of men who wanted antisemites hurt, and had no compunction about acting outside of the law.
An attendee of a Bund meeting “slid down the wall like vanilla ice cream rolling down a cone” after being pummeled by a Jewish thug. In another case, Jewish gangsters ambushed Bund members as they left an event, leading to “intense action … looking like the flesh-eating frenzy of piranhas in otherwise still waters.”3
After testing a “pilot” in New York, Perlman reached out to Al Capone’s associate Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik in Chicago and asked him to do in the Windy City what Lansky was doing in the Big Apple. Key to the Chicago operation were Jewish boxers, including champion Barney Ross, as well as blond, blue-eyed Jewish journalist Herb Brin who went to Bund meetings undercover and collected valuable intelligence.
In New Jersey, Perlman relied on mob boss and bootlegger extraordinaire Abner “Longie” Zwillman. In turn, Zwillman looked to his pal, ex-boxer and gym owner Nat Arno, for help in recruiting Jewish tough guys. The ever-generous Zwillman covered all costs incurred by these “Minutemen” — named after the New Englanders who took up arms against the British.
In Middle America, the problem was not the Bund so much as William Dudley Pelley’s Silver Legion. Many of the card-carrying 15,000 Silver Shirts and their supporters lived in Minnesota. Davie “The Jew” Berman, who ran the gambling scene in Minneapolis, was Perlman’s man. Berman even collaborated with rival Isadore “Kid Cann” Blumenfeld on this mission.
By 1939, Jewish gangsters had pounded enough Nazis to ensure that a significant number of them quit attending meetings, or at least went underground. The gangsters’ actions had also emboldened ordinary Jews to protest and take action.
The gangsters were able to get away with cracking skulls and causing all kinds of physical harm because the police (who were in the their pockets) turned the other way. With no fatalities involved, the bloody fights never made newspaper front pages, and the perpetrators were never named.
For the adversaries of Israel and the Jewish People, this should serve as a cautionary tale. Time and again, those who have sought to destroy or undermine the Jewish People have met ruin. From the downfall of Haman in ancient Persia to the collapse of Hitler’s Third Reich, history is littered with the wreckage of regimes that made the fatal mistake of underestimating Jewish resilience.
Today, Iran rattles its saber, terror groups launch rockets, and antisemites fantasize about a world without Jewish influence — but they should be careful what they wish for.
The Jews do not seek world domination. We do not need to. What we have built is something far more effective: a network of strength, intelligence, and alliances that ensures our survival and prosperity.
Benson, Michael. “Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in WW2 Era America.” Citadel. 2022.
“Bam! Kapow! When 1930s Jewish mobsters beat up Nazis in the streets of America.” The Times of Israel.
Benson, Michael. “Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in WW2 Era America.” Citadel. 2022.
Love this. And we could use another Perlman in America right now.
Joshua - Keep these essays coming - I hope they are widely circulated, I certainly will share this one...