Jewish Patriot and Hero of the American Revolution
By Dr. Richard Booker
As we celebrate July 4 many do not know the story of Haym Salomon, without whom, we would not have won our independence from Britain. His story is part of the lost pages of American history. May the story be lost no more. Please share it with your family and friends. Happy Fourth of July.
In 1975, the United States Postal Department issued a stamp honoring a man named Haym Salomon for his contribution to the cause of the American Revolution. This stamp was uniquely printed on the front and the back.
On the glue side of the stamp, the following words were printed in pale, green ink. “Financial Hero – Businessman and broker Haym Salomon was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution and later to save the new nation from collapse.”
I personally have one of these stamps. Historians who have studied the story of Haym Salomon all agree that without his “contribution to the cause” there would be no America today.
Haym Salomon bought and sold financial papers to raise money for Robert Morris who was the Superintendent of Finance for the Continental Congress. He believed that America would be a safe haven for the Jews. But this son of a rabbi, also believed that one day in the future, Jerusalem would rise from the dust, the Jews would return to their ancient homeland, and Israel and Jerusalem would once again be the home of the wandering Jew.
Salomon determined to do all that he could to finance the Revolution so that America could survive until that future time when his people would once again fill the streets of Jerusalem.
From one crisis to the next, Robert Morris went to Haym Salomon for help, and Salomon always responded. Haym Salomon gave his entire personal fortune of over $800,000 to the cause of the Revolution. This debt was never repaid. He died sick and penniless at the age of 45, January 6, 1785, leaving behind a young widow, Rachel, and four children all under the age of seven.
Rachel tried for months after Haym’s death to collect on personal loans that he had made to Robert Morris, to the Congress and others. She was requested to turn all her securities and certificates over to the State Treasurer of Pennsylvania for evaluation. After several months she made further inquiries and was informed that all of the papers relating to her inheritance had been lost.
Haym Salomon was buried in Mikveh Israel Cemetery in Philadelphia in a grave which is now unmarked. Since we don’t know the exact location of his grave, we cannot even pay our respects at his grave nor erect a marker.
But the story of Haym Salomon doesn’t end with an unmarked grave. There is a plaque on a brick wall bordering the cemetery that was placed by Haym’s great-grandson, William Salomon in 1917. It says, “To the Memory of Haym Salomon … interred in this Cemetery the location of the grave being now unknown … .”
Was it just a coincidence that the year this plaque was erected was the same year of the Balfour Declaration issued by the British which begins, “His majesty’s Government views with favor the establishing in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”?
Wow! God assisted England in defeating the great Spanish Armada so they could be the superpower of the world and give their support to the Jews having their ancient homeland. Britain had no chance against the mighty Spanish Armada. Defeat was certain and with that defeat, England would lose its Protestant leaning and be forced to embrace Catholicism. If this had happened, the world as we know it would have changed and Israel would not be born. Prophecy would not be fulfilled. Those who have studied the history know that it was the violent weather that defeated the Spanish Armada. And who controls the weather? How can any honest inquirer think that this is all a coincidence? Surely the Almighty is involved in world events then as He is now.
Was it just a coincidence that in 1975 when the U.S. Postal Department issued the stamp honoring Haym Salomon, that same year the Israeli government issued a stamp honoring Harry Truman, the American president who was the first head of state to recognize Israel?
Come let us reason together. When Franklin D. Roosevelt died only a few weeks into his fourth term, his Vice President was Harry Truman. When Harry ran for the presidency, no one gave him a chance. His opponent, Thomas Dewey, was projected to win handily. In fact, long before the final votes were counted, the Chicago Tribune published their infamous banner headline which read, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
In what was undoubtedly the greatest upset in American presidential elections, Truman won. Was it just a coincidence of history that Truman won? Or was there an unseen hand moving world events to place him into office?
Not many know that before Truman went into politics, he was in business with a Jewish man named Eddie Jacobson. While their business failed, Harry and Eddie remained friends. Harry was president on November 29, 1947 when the United Nations voted to partition pre-Israel Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. He was also president on May 1948 and recognized the new State of Israel on behalf of the United States.
Before then, the renowned British chemist and Zionist, Chaim Weizmann tried to get an audience with President Truman to convince him of the rightness of the creation of the State of Israel. President Truman refused to see Weizmann.
Furthermore, Truman’s support for recognizing the new State of Israel was wavering. It was at that time, that Harry’s old friend and business partner, Eddie Jacobson interceded with Harry and convinced him to see Weizmann. Truman assured Weizmann that he would support the creation of the new State of Israel. Truman kept his word and Israel was born on May 14, 1948. Can you connect the heavenly dots?
As Haym Salomon believed, America has been that safe haven for the Jewish people and Israel has been reborn. May we remember the great debt we owe to Haym Salomon. While we may not be able to repay him personally, we can honor him by standing firm in our support and prayers for a strong and secure Israel and a united Jerusalem under the rule of Haym Salomon’s spiritual descendants, the Jewish people. If we turn away from Israel, God will judge America just as He did the Spanish Armada. But He will bless us if we bless Israel and the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3).
On a personal note, I wrote an article about Haym Salomon in the Jewish Herald Voice newspaper in Houston, TX. Several days after the article appeared, we received a phone call at our office. The man said, “I read your article in the Jewish newspaper about Haym Salomon. My name is Gregory Salomon. I’m a relative.” Wow, were we stunned. We were blessed to meet Gregory for lunch and greatly enjoyed talking about his famous ancestor. God is good.
This article is an excerpt from Dr. Booker’s Book, Christians, Jews and Israel: Standing Together in Troubled Times. You may purchase the book by CLICKING HERE
