Jacob Schiff (January 10 1847 – September 25 1920) was a German-born New York City banker and philanthropist, who financed, among many other things, the Japanese military efforts against Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. He was part of a wealthy and powerful circle that included the Warburgs and Rothschilds, From his base on Wall Street, he was the foremost Jewish leader in what became known as the "Schiff era," grappling with all major issues and problems of the day, including the plight of Russian Jews under the czar, American and international anti-Semitism, care of needy Jewish immigrants, and the rise of Zionism. He also became the director in many important corporations, including the New York City National Bank, the Equitable Life Assurance Society, and the Union Pacific Railroad.

He was born in Frankfort-on-Main, Germany to a distinguished rabbinical family that traced its lineage in Frankfort back to 1370. In 1865, Schiff moved to the US at the age of 18. After several banking jobs, he eventually became the head of the banking firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Company, which grew to become "one of the two most influential private international banking houses on the Western Hemisphere" (Adler 8). Schiff always felt strongly about his connection to the Jewish people, and showed this through his philanthropy. He supported relief efforts for the victims of pogroms in Russia, and helped establish and develop Hebrew Union College, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Jewish Division in the New York Public Library. However, he also financed many major American projects, believing strongly in the need to further develop and bring together the US. To this end, he reorganized the bankrupt Union Pacific Railroad in 1897, as well as a number of other railroad companies.

Schiff grew to be one of American Jewry's top philanthropists and leaders, donating to nearly every major Jewish cause, as well as many secular American causes, and a number of other organizations for civil rights and the disadvantaged, such as the American Red Cross and Tuskegee Institute. He also played a role in the municipal affairs of New York City, and worked to shrink the reliance on machine bureaucracy in this arena.

During the Russo-Japanese War, in 1904 and 1905, in perhaps his most famous financial action, Schiff, again through Kuhn, Loeb & Co., extended a critical series of loans to Japan, in the amount of $200 million. He was willing to extend this loan due, in part, to his belief that gold is not as important as national effort and desire, in helping win a war, and due to the apparent underdog status of Japan at the time; no European nation had ever been defeated by a non-European nation before then. It is quite likely Schiff also saw this loan as a means of taking revenge, on behalf of the Jewish people, for the anti-Semitic actions of the Tsarist regime, specifically the then-recent pogroms in Kishinev. This loan attracted worldwide attention, and had major consequences. Japan won the war, and elements of its government mistakenly took this as evidence of the power of Jews all around the world, of their loyalty to one another, and as proof of the truth of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This thinking later led to the failed Fugu Plan, which would have saved many thousands of Jews from the Holocaust, bringing them to Japan-controlled China to work for the benefit of Japan's economy. In any case, Schiff was conferred the Second Order of the Sacred Treasure of Japan by Emperor Meiji, becoming one of the first foreigners to be offered this exclusive honor. He was also invited to a private audience in 1904 with King Edward VII of England.

In addition to his famous loan to Japan, Schiff financed loans to many other nations, including those that would come to comprise the Central Powers. When World War I finally did break out, he used his reputation and influence to urge President Woodrow Wilson, and others, to put an end to the war as quickly as possible, even without an Allied victory. He feared for the lives of his family, back in Germany, but also for the future of his adopted land. He engineered loans to France, and other nations for humanitarian purposes, and spoke out against submarine warfare.

Over the years, before, during, and after World War I, his firm extended loans to many nations all around the world, but Schiff made sure none of the funds ever went to Russia, which continued to severely oppress the Jewish people. When the Tsar's government fell in 1917, Schiff believed that the oppression of Jews (and other peoples) would end. He became sympathetic for Alexander Kerensky's government, and formally repealed the impediments within his firm against lending to Russia. Of course, once the policies and doctrines of Lenin's and Trotsky's Soviet goverment became apparent, Schiff once more became bitterly opposed to aiding Russia in any way.

Perhaps surprisingly, Schiff stood opposed to political, secular Zionism. He claimed to identify with Jews by faith, not by race. However, despite not agreeing fully with the ideas of Theodore Herzl, and in fact believing that Zionism was not compatible with American citizenship, he donated to many Jewish projects in Palestine, including the Technical Institute of Haifa. As the situation for Eastern European Jews grew more dire, with the Russian Revolution, and pogroms in Ukraine, Schiff made more considerable contributions to the Zionist effort; he even offered to join the Zionist organization, provided he could publish a statement he'd prepared. This offer was denied, and so he never formally joined the Zionist camp.

Schiff fell ill and died in the winter of 1920.

Jacob Schiff in Conspiracy & Fiction

Due to his fame, his wealth and power, and the large number of causes, events, and organizations he was involved in, Jacob Schiff has been incorporated into many conspiracy theories, most inspired in large part by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. He is accused, along with the Rothchilds, Warburgs and others, of being one of the leaders of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy to dominate the economies, and therefore the governments, of the world. In truth, he did play a significant role in the election campaign of Woodrow Wilson in 1912, and spoke directly to Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt on several occasions, and he met personally with King Edward VII of England and Emperor Meiji of Japan. His loans to Japan and other nations, along with his contributions to countless companies and organizations around the world made him a ready target for anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Ironically, he has also, in other texts, been accused of being an anti-Semite, and anti-American, due to his support of the Russian Communists. However, having passed away only three years after the Russian Revolution, it is doubtful that he contributed much, if any, money to the likes of Lenin and Trotsky; even if he did, it is certainly nonsense to suppose that he knew of, or supported the more severe doctrines and policies of the Soviets at this time. Finally, Schiff demonstrated time after time his dedication not only to the Jewish community, but also to his adopted homeland of America. Obviously, sympathizing with Alexander Kerensky decades before the Cold War is not treason, and opposition to the secular, political ideas of Zionism as set down by Herzl and others is not anti-Semitic. Over the course of his lifetime, Schiff donated many hundreds of thousands of dollars to American corporations and organizations, and to Jewish causes in the US, Palestine, and around the world.

References

• Adler, Cyrus (1921). "Jacob Henry Schiff: A Biographical Sketch." New York: The American Jewish Committee.
• Brody, Seymour (1996). "Jacob Henry Schiff". Virtual Jewish Library. Accessed 21 Jan 2005.