A mother hugs her son at the memorial of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2019, the first anniversary of the shooting at the synagogue.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
The US Constitution is supposed to protect freedom of religion. But in the 20th century, white Christian nationalists used this ideal to discriminate against Jews and justify their exclusion.
Despite courting the Jewish vote, President Trump has used anti-Semitic rhetoric.
AP/John Locher
A task force has been assembled in the US Senate to fight anti-Semitism. A specialist in Jewish-American history says the group has a big job ahead of it. Anti-Semitism has a long history in the US.
President Trump recently pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to block the entry of two congresswomen to Israel.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File
President Trump has said American Jews loyal to Israel should support the Republican Party. A scholar explains the historical tensions embedded in the anti-Semitic trope.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey discusses a bill that would virtually outlaw abortion in the state.
AP Photo/Blake Paterson
An expert explains that many of the foundational Jewish texts assert that a fetus does not attain the status of personhood until birth.
Particularly for young Canadian Jews, a holiday meal achieves conviviality in the family and solidarity with the Jewish community, but its religious significance is less important than in the past.
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Despite the primacy of Christmas in American culture, the visibility of Hanukkah in pop culture reminds Jews that they have their own holiday in which they can take pride.
In the United States, Hanukkah has gained much significance.
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Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor festivals, but its popularity in the US has a lot to do with America’s Jews trying to fight assimilation into a culture that welcomed them.
A memorial outside Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue on Oct. 29, 2018, erected after a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the temple.
AP/Gene J. Puskar)
American anti-Semitism took an organized form in the 20th century. The German American Bund and the Silver Legion developed a unique culture of hatred for Jews that persists today in alt-right groups.
For decades, native-born American Jews changed their names to improve their job prospects.
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A national survey of over 1,300 congregations found that religious leaders struggle to balance security concerns with carrying out a mission to be open to the communities they serve.
American and Israeli flags above Jerusalem rooftops prior to President Trump’s May 2017 visit.
Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
With the Holocaust still on their mind, many American Jews were highly sensitive to portrayals of Jews in popular culture. So when Roth’s sex-obsessed characters came along, the pushback was swift.
Immigrants and inspectors in the registry room for legal inspections at Ellis Island.
Thousands of Jewish immigrants and their children changed their names in America – but not at Ellis Island. The reasons are complicated and part of the Jewish struggle with their identity in America.
Sophie Tucker defiantly embraced her fuller figure.
AP Photo/Remo Nassi
As Israel approaches the 70th anniversary of its establishment, many older American Jews will be celebrating. Many younger ones will wonder whether the Jewish state is something to celebrate at all.
The candidates address the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Conference in May.
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Professor of Comparative and World Literature, Director, Program in Jewish Culture and Society, Director, Initiative in Holocaust, Genocide, Memory Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign