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. January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending into the Yellow Sea The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) was an extremely bloody conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Imperial Russia and Japan in Manchuria and... Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia Nicholas II of Russia ( 18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918 ) was the last crowned Emperor of Russia. ... For other meanings, please see Zionism (disambiguation) Zionism is a political movement among Jews, although supported by some non-Jews and not supported by some Jews, which maintains that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland. ...

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. Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ...   Frankfurt am Main? [ˈfraÅ‹kfÊŠrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany. ... Events Beginning of the rule of Poland by Capet-Anjou family. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC or HUC-JIR) is the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism. ... The Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism, and is the movements main rabbinical seminary. ... New York Public Library, central block, built 1897–1911, Carrère and Hastings, architects (June 2003) The New York Public Library (NYPL), one of three public library systems serving New York City, is one of the leading libraries in the United States. ... The Union Pacific Railroad (NYSE: UNP) is the largest railroad in the United States. ...

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. A WWII-era poster encouraged American women to volunteer for the Red Cross as part of the war effort. ... There is also the Tuskegee Airmen, a corps of African-American military pilots trained there during World War II Tuskegee University is an American institution of higher learning located in Tuskegee, Alabama. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. ...

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. Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending into the Yellow Sea The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) was an extremely bloody conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Imperial Russia and Japan in Manchuria and... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A pogrom (from Russian: погром (meaning wreaking of havoc) is a massive violent attack on a particular ethnic or religious group with simultaneous destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... Chişinău (Russian Кишинёв, Kishinyov, also Kishinev; Moldovan Cyrillic Кишинэу), estimated population 920,000 (2002), is the capital of Moldova. ... The Protocols of the (Learned) Elders of Zion is a fraudulent document purporting to describe a plan to achieve Jewish global domination. ... The Fugu Plan or Fugu Plot (河豚計画 Fugu keikaku) was a scheme created in the 1930s in Japan, centered around the idea of settling Jewish refugees, escaping Nazi Europe, in Japan, to Japans benefit. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... Emperor Mutsuhito Mutsuhito or Mitsuhito (睦仁), the Meiji Emperor (明治天皇, literally wise ruling heaven emperor) (3 November 1852–30 July 1912) was the 122nd Emperor of Japan. ... His Majesty King Edward VII (Albert Edward von Wettin) (9 November 1841–6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of India. ...

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. The Central Powers are depicted in red. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Order: 28th President Vice President: Thomas R. Marshall Term of office: March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1921 Preceded by: William Howard Taft Succeeded by: Warren G. Harding Date of birth: December 28, 1856 Place of birth: Staunton, Virginia Date of death: February 3, 1924 Place of death: Washington, D.C...

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. Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia Nicholas II of Russia ( 18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918 ) was the last crowned Emperor of Russia. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ке́ренский) (April 22, 1881 (May 2, New Style) - June 11, 1970) was the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government, immediately before the Bolsheviks and Lenin came to power. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... 1915 passport photo of Trotsky Leon Davidovich Trotsky (Russian: Лев Давидович Троцкий; also transliterated Trotskii, Trotski, Trotzky) (October 26 (O.S.) = November 7 (N.S.), 1879 - August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Лев Давидович Бронштейн), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist intellectual. ...

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. For other meanings, please see Zionism (disambiguation) Zionism is a political movement among Jews, although supported by some non-Jews and not supported by some Jews, which maintains that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland. ... Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (May 2, 1860–July 3, 1904) was an Austrian Jewish journalist who became the founder of modern political Zionism. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (הטכניון - מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a university in Haifa, Israel. ... The phrase Russian Revolution can refer to the following events in the history of Russia. ...

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 Rothschilds, 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. The Protocols of the (Learned) Elders of Zion is a fraudulent document purporting to describe a plan to achieve Jewish global domination. ... Order: 28th President Vice President: Thomas R. Marshall Term of office: March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1921 Preceded by: William Howard Taft Succeeded by: Warren G. Harding Date of birth: December 28, 1856 Place of birth: Staunton, Virginia Date of death: February 3, 1924 Place of death: Washington, D.C... 1912 is a leap year starting on Monday. ... Order: 26th President Vice President: Charles Warren Fairbanks Term of office: September 14, 1901 – March 3, 1909 Preceded by: William McKinley Succeeded by: William Howard Taft Date of birth: October 27, 1858 Place of birth: New York City Date of death: January 6, 1919 Place of death: Oyster Bay, New... Emperor Mutsuhito Mutsuhito or Mitsuhito (睦仁), the Meiji Emperor (明治天皇, literally wise ruling heaven emperor) (3 November 1852–30 July 1912) was the 122nd Emperor of Japan. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ...

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. Schiff demonstrated time after time his dedication not only to the Jewish community, but also to his adopted homeland of America. 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.