Antisemitism, an American Tradition

Pamela S Nadell

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Book cover for Antisemitism, an American Tradition
Image for variant 9781324134282
Book cover for Antisemitism, an American Tradition
Image for variant 9781324134282

Antisemitism, an American Tradition

Antisemitism, an American Tradition

Pamela S Nadell

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Description

Jews experienced antisemitism the moment they landed on what would become the United States. When they first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, Peter Stuyvesant tried but failed to deport them. As historian Pamela S. Nadell tells in Antisemitism, an American Tradition, this was only antisemitism's beginning on our shores, as negative European stereotypes about Jews rooted into American soil.

Compared with the Old World, with its expulsions, Inquisition, ghettos, and Holocaust, America's Jews have a different history--but one where antisemitism, even if it has had fewer dramatic eruptions, is deeply embedded. Jews in America faced restrictions on holding office and getting financial credit. Universities set quotas to limit the number of Jews attending and businesses refused to hire them. Jews endured verbal and physical attacks, and their synagogues and cemeteries, continuing to this day, were vandalized and desecrated.

Antisemitism, an American Tradition investigates the depths of this fraught history and its recent manifestations: white nationalists chanting "Jews will not replace us" in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a gunman murdering eleven worshippers at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue building.

Nadell also shows Jews responding to prejudice and hate. America's Jews created advocacy organizations. They turned to the courts to safeguard their constitutional rights. They made common cause with allies to confront all types of hate. They even used their fists when needed.

At a time when prejudice, discrimination, and hate against Jews is flaring across the country, Antisemitism, an American Tradition argues that we must understand the past. This momentous work reveals how antisemitism--and resistance to that hatred--endures, representing not a rupture from America's history, but a centuries-old legacy.

Critical Reviews

Persuasive. . . . A strength of Ms. Nadell's book is her blunt identification of antisemitism irrespective of politics, race or religion. . . . At the same time, the book provides grounds for hope.--John G. Turner "Wall Street Journal"

A worthy and timely addition to the literature on American anti-Semitism.--Seth Mandel "Commentary"

At a time when antisemitic incidents are on the rise, Nadell has, to her great credit, catalogued a disturbing side of American history that adds nuance to the widespread belief that the American experience has been a uniquely welcoming one for Jews.--Peter Ephross "Hadassah Magazine"

Timely--and unfortunately timeless... For those who have not yet entered the fray and for those who have, reading Antisemitism, An American Tradition is a necessary step to doing so more smartly and impactfully.--Jay Tcath "Jewish Chicago"

An urgent and provocative work on the history of hostility to American Jews.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Today it has become common to hear people lament the rise of American antisemitism with words akin to 'I never thought I would see this in America.' Pamela S. Nadell, with her well-proven skill of making the historically complex highly accessible, demonstrates that this is not a new phenomenon. It is an American tradition. Anyone who has been scared, perplexed, or surprised by the current expressions of antisemitism in America should read this book. Anyone who has not should read it as well.--Ambassador Deborah E. Lipstadt, author of Antisemitism: Here and Now

This is the book that the world needs now, a bracing narrative of dark chapters from America's past--history that continues to stalk the nation. Nadell writes with command and a detective's sense for where buried episodes of antisemitism can be found.--Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future

Pamela S. Nadell understands that 'antisemitism was and remains a powerful American tradition.' In this timely and comprehensive book, she courageously bares that tradition, unveiling a darker side of American Jewish history that has, for far too long, lain hidden from view.--Jonathan D. Sarna, author of American Judaism

No book could be more timely than Pamela S. Nadell's magisterial history of American antisemitism. Reading her meticulous account of this country's anti-Jewish rhetoric, agitation, and physical violence helps us to better understand the nature of today's antisemitism.--Michael Brenner, author of In Hitler's Munich

Congratulations to Pamela Nadell for a well-documented book on the always present disease of antisemitism in America and how it has metastasized in lost opportunities and violence during our country's 250-plus year history. The illustrative examples powerfully demonstrate the historic and current challenges for Jews in America.--Former U.S. Senator Ben Cardin

Publishing Information

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pub date: 2026-10-27
Length: 352 pages

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