Jewish war veterans: Where are you?

Everybody knows about the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and there’s probably a VFW post in your hometown. But fewer people are familiar with the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, an organization founded in 1896 and now claiming 15,000 members.

The JWV is a storied organization, with its own museum in Washington, D.C., a national convention and a long-standing presence in Rhode Island.

“There were originally six posts in Rhode Island, the smallest one having more than 200 members,” said Ira Fleisher, the state commander of the JWV for the past three and a half years.

In the decades following World War II, Rhode Island’s JWV was particularly robust and active, Fleisher said in a recent interview.

But times have changed. Those six posts have dwindled to three, and Fleisher estimates that there are about 100 members in the entire state. Most of them are older; Fleisher himself served in the military from 1966 to 1969 and is now 74. Since he became involved in JWV about 15 years ago, membership has halved, and Fleisher was quickly promoted through the ranks to lead the organization.

“Jewish War Veterans in Rhode Island is almost a shadow of itself,” Fleisher said. “In my heart of hearts, I know there are two to three hundred veterans in Rhode Island who served during the Vietnam War. It’s very difficult to get them to acknowledge it, step forward, and take part in the Jewish War Veterans.”

The national JWV is the oldest organized veterans’ group in the country, advocating for Jewish veterans and commemorating their service in countless ways. In Rhode Island, the JWV marches in Bristol’s famous Fourth of July Parade and honors deceased veterans on Memorial Day, raising awareness that Jews have played an essential role in the U.S. armed services.

Fleisher believes that even the Jewish community in Rhode Island doesn’t fully acknowledge its own veterans.

“It’s one thing to say that non-Jews don’t recognize the role that Jews have played in our military,” he said. “But it’s more eye-opening to me that Jews don’t recognize it. Many, many Jews don’t know that JWV exists. How do we expect the general population to accept it?”

Fleisher grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and was stationed for a year in South Korea, after the Korean War had ended.

A costume jewelry manufacturer for 25 years, Fleisher had no intention of joining a veterans’ organization until his cousin, a Vietnam veteran, died from complications related to Agent Orange exposure. Fleisher's cousin was active in the JWV in Florida.

“I felt like I was taking his place,” said Fleisher, who now lives in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and owns a monument company. “It’s my way of giving back to those who gave more of themselves than I did.”

Two years ago, Fleisher wrote an article for Jewish Rhode Island with the headline, “Jewish veterans, are you out there?” He beseeched them to reveal themselves and participate in the JWV.

Fleisher said that the JWV provides camaraderie and closure that many veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, have never had. The organization also celebrates members who dispel common myths, such as a younger Orthodox veteran who served in the Air Force.

The JWV doesn’t arrange an official ceremony for Veterans Day, observed on Nov. 11, but it is traditional for many synagogues to have a moment of silence and contemplation on the holiday.

If nothing else, Fleisher hopes the annual holiday nudges silent veterans out of the woodwork.

“We have had some success,” Fleisher said. “I’ve had a number of people who have joined the JWV in the last few years. It could be around 15 or more. But I would hope that other Jews who are veterans would step forward. I think there’s a reality that we can’t continue to exist without them. I believe they’re out there.”

To learn more about the Jewish War Veterans of Rhode Island, contact Ira Fleisher at ijinri@aol.com.

ROBERT ISENBERG (risenberg@jewishallianceri.org) is the multimedia producer for the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and a writer for Jewish Rhode Island.