It’s funny you mentioned Strauss and not much benefit. Strauss was not appointed because of “Jews” and “Commerce” It was because Ellis Island was under the Dept. of Commerce. This was a time when tons of Russian Jews were fleeing persecution and looming wars. With Strauss in charge the officers had the attitude of making it work. Not denying a Jew entry over a petty little typo or a missing minor document. Hundreds of thousands (it may have been over a million) of Jews came here under these favorable conditions. One Yom Kippur Strauss didn’t show up in shul. When asked where he was he said he had to go to work to prevent the deportation of 7,000 Russian Jews.
This is just 1 example of how having Jews in high places can provide tremendous benefit to the Jews community.
Shout out to Teddy Roosevelt, he was a real mensch.