President of Ireland Thanks NY Jews for Aid During Irish Potato Famine
Jacques Judah Lyons had a strong tenor voice, one that people were glad to hear in song or speech. One March night, he used it to challenge a crowd in Lower Manhattan. Strangers in a far-off place needed their help, he said, but he knew that members of his audience had principled objections. So many of their own people, they pointed out, other Jews right there in New York, were also destitute and needed assistance.