About Me
Pamela Nadell, professor and Patrick Clendenen Chair in women’s and Gender History at American University, is a historian specializing in American Jewish history antisemitism. She authored America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today, winner of the 2019 National Jewish Book Award’s “Jewish Book of the Year.” Her new book Antisemitism, An American Tradition will be published on October 14, 2025 (W.W. Norton) and was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award.
Nadell also wrote Women Who Would be Rabbis, which was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies, and has consulted for museums, including Philadelphia’s Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Pittsburgh’s rebuild of the Tree of Life Congregation, and Tel Aviv’s ANU: The Museum of the Jewish People. A past president of the Association for Jewish Studies, she lectures widely and teaches courses on antisemitism, the Holocaust, and American Jewish History. She has testified before Congress three times and was the fourth witness in the congressional hearing with the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and University of Pennsylvania.
Contact Me
Do you have a question or an inquiry? Whether you’re interested in booking a lecture, discussing my work, or reaching out for media or scholarly collaborations, I welcome your message. Please click here to contact me.
Pages
- Antisemitism Book
- Books
- Antisemitism, an American Tradition
- America’s Jewish Women
- American Jewish Women’s History
- Conservative Judaism in America
- Making Women’s Histories
- New Essays in American Jewish History
- Women and American Judaism
- Women Who Would be Rabbis
- Three Hundred Fifty Years: An Album of American Jewish Memory
- Events
- News
- Videos
- About Me
- Contact Me
Topics
Events
- March 30, 2025 “Antisemitism, an American Tradition” Keynote, Contemporary Antisemitism Conference in London, England
- April 8, 2025 “Through Women’s Eyes: Antisemitism in America” Hosted by Women’s League for Conservative Judaism – Zoom Conference
- May 4, 2025 “Celebrating Professor Jonathan Sarna’s Scholarship” at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
- May 18, 2025 “Understanding Contemporary Antisemitism” Hosted by Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL – Zoom Conference
- August 3-7, 2025 “America’s Jewish Women” and “Antisemitism, an American Tradition” Guest Speaker at the Everett Jewish Life Center, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY
- October 14, 2025 Date of Publication of Antisemitism, an American Tradition – Book Tour to be Announced Soon!
News
- Guthrie’s three-act ‘Lehman Trilogy’ charts one immigrant family’s epic rise and catastrophic fall
- Antisemitism Seeing Global Rise
- Pamela Nadell’s History: Professor, Author, Researcher
- Q&A: Antisemitism in America
- How Republicans Echo Antisemitic Tropes Despite Declaring Support for Israel
- Hollywood is Failing Jewish-Americans Despite a History Together – Opinion
- The 4th to Testify: Congressional witness Pamela Nadell on the US Antisemitism Crisis
- New Study Highlights Campus Antisemitism ‘Hot Spots’
- What Jewish College Students Have to Say About the Campus Climate
- A Brief History of Antisemitism in U.S. Higher Education
- The Gaza Crisis is Stoking Antisemitism in the U.S.
- Antisemitism on Elon Musk’s X is Surging and Dredging Up Many Ancient, Defamatory Themes of Blaming Jews
Q&A: Antisemitism in America
/in NewsIn Pamela’s Q&A session with American University Magazine, she discusses the alarming increase in antisemitic incidents in 2023 and the long history of antisemitism in America. From the first Jewish settlers to today’s rise in hate crimes, she examines how understanding this history is crucial to addressing the ongoing challenge of combating antisemitism.
How Republicans Echo Antisemitic Tropes Despite Declaring Support for Israel
/in NewsIn The New York Times article How Republicans Echo Antisemitic Tropes Despite Declaring Support for Israel, Pamela Nadell highlights how terms like “globalist” and “cosmopolitan” have evolved into modern antisemitic tropes, particularly through the figure of George Soros. She explains how these terms, historically used to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about Jews, continue to be weaponized in contemporary political rhetoric, reflecting a troubling continuity of antisemitic narratives in mainstream discourse.
Hollywood is Failing Jewish-Americans Despite a History Together – Opinion
/in NewsIn The Jerusalem Post, Pamela S. Nadell expressed concern over Dave Chappelle’s use of antisemitic tropes during his SNL monologue, which reached millions of viewers. She emphasized the troubling impact of perpetuating harmful stereotypes in such a widely viewed platform.
The 4th to Testify: Congressional witness Pamela Nadell on the US Antisemitism Crisis
/in NewsIn an article in The Times of Israel, Dr. Pamela Nadell described the December 2023 Congressional hearing on antisemitism as a pivotal moment, underscoring a ‘sea change’ in its visibility following the October 7 Hamas attacks. She called for greater awareness of antisemitism’s history and better funding to address discrimination under Title VI.
New Study Highlights Campus Antisemitism ‘Hot Spots’
/in NewsAn Inside Higher Ed report on a Brandeis University study reveals significant variations in Jewish students’ perceptions of antisemitism across college campuses. Pamela Nadell, director of the Jewish studies program at American University, emphasizes that rising campus antisemitism reflects a broader national phenomenon, citing past incidents and federal efforts to combat the issue.
What Jewish College Students Have to Say About the Campus Climate
/in NewsIn The Chronicle of Higher Education, Pamela Nadell, a professor at American University, expressed concern over survey findings that 30 percent of students at colleges with the “highest hostility” reported encountering anti-Israel hostility from faculty members. “That to me is a major concern and actually something that I really think is a place where the university needs to figure out how to step in,” Nadell said.
A Brief History of Antisemitism in U.S. Higher Education
/in NewsA recent Washington Post article traces the deep-rooted history of antisemitism in American higher education from the 18th century to today’s campus tensions. Pamela Nadell, a historian and director of American University’s Jewish Studies Program, explains how Columbia University, like other elite institutions in the 1920s, restricted Jewish admissions to preserve its Protestant-dominated culture. The article highlights how such exclusionary policies shaped university demographics and how antisemitism continues to manifest in academic settings today.
The Gaza Crisis is Stoking Antisemitism in the U.S.
/in NewsAs antisemitic incidents spike across the U.S. in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, experts warn of an alarming rise in hate crimes, online vitriol, and harassment of Jewish students. NBC News reports on this disturbing trend, with historian Pamela Nadell noting that while antisemitism has long been part of American history, the unprecedented scale and intensity of social media-fueled hatred make this moment particularly dangerous.
Antisemitism on Elon Musk’s X is Surging and Dredging Up Many Ancient, Defamatory Themes of Blaming Jews
/in NewsIn her article for The Conversation and Yahoo News, historian Pamela Nadell explores how antisemitism is surging on Elon Musk’s X, where hate speech against Jews is gaining traction. She highlights how attacks on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) echo centuries-old antisemitic narratives.