Neo-Nazi to JNF chairman: Plant trees on which we can hang Jews

According to KKL-JNF, the letter was intended for Jewish communities abroad in order to raise funds for KKL, but reach a neo-Nazi organization instead.

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
Letter penned by Hanoch Sigmund Titman (photo credit: Courtesy)
Letter penned by Hanoch Sigmund Titman
(photo credit: Courtesy)
“Plant trees on which we can hang Jews,” was the message received in 1978 by Hanoch Sigmund Titman, chairman of an umbrella organization for Central European Jews at the time. It was handwritten and sent to his mailbox in Tel Aviv, in response to a solicitation for funds to plant trees in Israel. The note was penned by a neo-Nazi.
This letter was seen for the first time this week by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was turned over to them by Titman’s grandson, Avi Amir.
According to KKL-JNF, the letter was intended for Jewish communities abroad in order to raise funds for KKL, but reached a neo-Nazi organization instead.
“We hope you’ll plant lots of trees so that there will be a place to hang all the Jews,” the letter states. “Jew, it has come to our attention that you and other professional liars like you, want to plant a forest in the Jerusalem hills to commemorate your race – members who were supposedly murdered by us.
“The truth is that your comrades are still living in West Germany, and we recommend that you plant a large enough forest, so that when we settle down in West Germany, we will come and visit you.”
Upon receipt of the letter, KKL-JNF Chairman Daniel Atar said that “the way to answer antisemitism is the millions of Jews living today in a thriving, successful Jewish state.”
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