Jewish Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook

(Hardback)

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Description

How the Jewish American community emerged from obscurity to play a role in behind-the-scenes power politics and finally appeared center stage. The Jewish experience in the American political arena is one of community, passion, and persistence. Its pre-Revolutionary beginnings were followed by waves of immigration that often sparked anti-Semitic outbursts. Yet perseverance led to domestic and foreign policy successes, such as U.S.Israel relations, and culminated in a vice-presidential candidate named Joseph Lieberman. Jewish Americans and Political Participation explores the rise of Jewish people from hardscrabble immigrant origins to the highest echelons of political power. The book first provides an overview of American Jewish life, including the impact of immigration, religious attitudes, domestic anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, the struggle for a Jewish state, and U.Slsrael relations. A chapter is devoted to protest politics, covering such events as President Grant's Order no.11 (expulsion edict), tenants and shirtwaist makers strikes, the 1943 rabbis' march on Washington, Jewish responses to the Rosenberg case, the movement to free Soviet Jews, and more. The book also covers participation in social movements: abolitionism, settlement houses, Jewish defense organizations, and the New Left. Another chapter is devoted to Jewish participation in electoral politics, from Jewish interest in early socialism to Jewish advisers to presidents, and the emergence of Jewish conservatism. There are also biographies of Jewish officials and political officeholders.

Reviews

"This book is well written and provides a compact and easily accessible history of American Jewish political life ... this book serves as an important complement to some of the previous volumes in the series covering African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans." - Booklist "[A] recommended purchase for public and high school libraries." - VOYA "It is a useful resource for academic and public library collections." - American Reference Books Annual "This volume belongs in any library that claims to have some intelligent scope of materials on Jews and politics in the U.S. Essential. All levels." - Choice

Author Bio

Rafael Medoff, PhD, is visiting scholar in Jewish studies at Purchase College, State University of New York, Purchase, NY and associate editor of American Jewish History.