My Q&A with Adrienne Frank of American University Magazine.
Pamela Nadell, director of the Jewish Studies Program and Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History, delves into the history and persistence of antisemitism in the United States. In a conversation with Adrienne Frank, Nadell discusses the alarming rise in antisemitic incidents, which surged 140 percent in 2023 alone, and explores the roots of what she calls “the longest hatred.” Drawing on her upcoming book, Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Nadell sheds light on how history informs today’s unsettling reality.
“It’s crucial to understand the longevity of antisemitism in the US. It’s different than antisemitism in Europe, which took the form of genocide. But that doesn’t mean that the antisemitism that occurred in America—starting in 1654, when Governor Peter Stuyvesant tried to expel the first 23 Jews from New Amsterdam—is inconsequential. It has actually been very consequential, as we’re seeing now.”
Read more from my Question & Answer session in American University Magazine.
