American Jews

American Jews

Jewish Immigration to America

The size and character of the American Jewish community has been defined by the 3.5 million Jews who have emigrated since the 17th century.

American Jews

Jews in the Civil Rights Movement

Nowhere did Jews identify themselves more forth­rightly with the liberal avant-garde than in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

Modern Jewish History

The Soviet Jewry Movement in America

The fight to liberate the USSR's Jews strengthened and united the American Jewish community.

Black-Jewish Relations in America

Relations between African Americans and Jews have evolved through periods of indifference, partnership and estrangement.

Black Wedding: Marrying the Spanish Flu Away

This Jewish response to a devastating epidemic in the early 20th century drew on a mixture of Eastern European customs and inspired both fierce proponents and harsh critics.

Where the False Claim That Jews Controlled the Slave Trade Comes From

Like many others, Jews participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but they by no means dominated it.

What Are Post-Denominational, Trans-Denominational and Non-Denominational Judaism?

These organized Jewish communities exist outside the major movements.

Anti-Semitism in America

Prejudice against Jews has always existed in the United States, but American anti-Semitism differs from its European precursor in fundamental ways.

LGBTQ Jewish History Quiz

How much do you know about LGBTQ Jewish history?

America and the Holocaust

Where were the United States government and the American Jewish community during the destruction of European Jewry?

Is Mah-Jongg a Jewish Game?

This Chinese parlor game found Jewish enthusiasts in the Catskills.

Who Is Dr. Ruth?

How a Jewish grandmother forever changed America's ideas of sexual education and literacy.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The first Jewish woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

How Christmas Transformed Hanukkah in America

Proximity to the popular Christian holiday caused Hanukkah to take on a new significance.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

When the Rosenbergs were charged with spying, American Jews feared an anti-Semitic backlash.