This immediately caused heated discussion amongst those present, with some against the idea of such a monument and others in favor. The next day Benjamin II went to speak with Mr. J. K. Gutheim, the preacher and hazzan of the Portuguese synagogue, who was strongly in favor of erecting the monument. He pointed out that erecting such a statue was forbidden by Jewish law, but Gutheim would not change his mind. Benjamin II realized that he had no recourse but to register a public protest, so he published his views on the matter in the Cornerstone, a periodical read by most of New Orleans’s Jews.
Benjamin II’s article created a great sensation. An article attacking him soon appeared in another publication. The controversy heated up to the point where Benjamin II was pressured by the Hebrew Foreign Mission to withdraw his protest to the erection of this statue or else the grant of $300 annually for three years that he had been promised would be withdrawn. When he refused to back down, the grant was indeed rescinded! Benjamin II, fearing for his safety, soon left New Orleans for Cincinnati.
(To be continued)
[i] Touro, Judah, by Joseph Jacobs and L. Hühner, The Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 12, Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1901-1906, pages 212- 213. This article is available at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=283&letter=T
[ii] For the details of Touro’s will see Judah Touro, Merchant and Philanthropist by Max J. Kohler,
Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society (1893-1961); 1905; 13, AJHS Journal page 93 ff. This article is available at http://www.ajhs.org/reference/adaje.cfm
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Touro, Judah, by Joseph Jacobs and L. Hühner, The Jewish Encyclopedia.
[v] Drei Jahre in Amerika has been translated into English under the title Three Years in America: 1859–1862 (Volumes I & II) by I. J. Benjamin, translated from the German by Charles Reznikoff, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1956.
[vi] Benjamin II., J. J. by Isador Singer and E. Schwartzfeld, The Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 3, Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1901-1906, pages 25- 26. This article is available at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=714&letter=B&search=benjamin%20ii
[vii] Three Years in America: 1859-1862 Volume I, page 318.
[viii] Ibid., page 321