Philip Sidney Bernstein

Philip Sidney Bernstein (June 29, 1901 – December 3, 1985) was a reform rabbi who served as the advisor to the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war he helped find homes for over 200,000 displaced Jews.

Biography Bernstein was born on June 29, 1901, in Rochester, New York. He would study at Syracuse University as well as the Jewish Institute of Religion.

In his capacity as a rabbi, Bernstein would begin taking a prominent role in fighting antisemitism; exemplified by his correspondence with his acquaintance Cardinal Edward Mooney. Bernstein requested the Cardinal join him in combatting Father Charles Coughlin and his antisemitic National Union for Social Justice.

During World War II Bernstein, a reform rabbi acted as the official advisor on Jewish affairs to United States Army commanders in Europe. He would also relate the stories of the Holocaust to the United States beginning in 1943. After the war, Bernstein would assist in resettling over 200,000 displaced European Jews.

In the 1950s and 60s, Bernstein served as the president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and chairman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.