Author

Jonathan D. Sarna

Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History. His most recent book, with Benjamin Shapell, is Lincoln and the Jews: A History.

16 articles by Jonathan D. Sarna

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Why Are Jews Liberals?—A Symposium

by Jonathan D. Sarna

A symposium on Norman Podhoretz’s new book, Why Are Jews Liberals?

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Henry Ford and the Jews by Neil Baldwin

by Jonathan D. Sarna

Why do they hate us? This question, all too familiar from today's headlines, is not dissimilar to one asked by…

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The Secret of Jewish Continuity

by Jonathan D. Sarna

“It's continuity, stupid.”

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The Warburgs, by Ron Chernow

by Jonathan D. Sarna

The history of the Warburg family begins modestly enough in the 16th century when one Simon von Cassel (d. 1566)…

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Columbus & the Jews

by Jonathan D. Sarna

A century ago, on October 12, 1892, the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's landing in the New World was celebrated…

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Mostly Morgenthaus, by Henry Morgenthau III

by Jonathan D. Sarna

Storybook histories of old-line German-Jewish families in America resemble one another to a remarkable degree.

<img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img class="cm-post-image-box-default" src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" />

American Jews and Israel – A Symposium

by Lionel Abel, Robert Alter, Daniel Bell, Eric M. Breindel, Joel Carmichael, Paul Cowan, Werner J. Dannhauser, Midge Decter, Maurice Friedberg, Murray Friedman, Nathan Glazer, Irving Greenberg, Ben Halpern, Mark Helprin, Milton Himmelfarb, Erich Isaac, Rael Isaac, H. J. Kaplan, Hilton Kramer, Edward N. Luttwak, Michael A. Meyer, Jacob Neusner, William Phillips, Daniel.Pipes, Richard Pipes, Dennis Prager, Earl Raab, Eugene V. Rostow, Jonathan D. Sarna, Peter Shaw, Seymour Siegel, David Singer, Max Singer, Steven L. Spiegel, Roger Starr and Marie Syrkin

Never, perhaps, has criticism of the state of Israel by American Jews been so open, so widespread, and so bitter…

<img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img class="cm-post-image-box-default" src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" />

Sacred Survival, by Jonathan Woocher

by Jonathan D. Sarna

The term civil religion, popularized by Robert Bellah in a seminal essay of 1967, commonly refers to the symbols, rituals,…

<img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img class="cm-post-image-box-default" src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" />

Selected Letters of Cyrus Adler, edited by Ira Robinson

by Jonathan D. Sarna

When Cyrus Adler graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, his classmates, who considered him a trifle arrogant, pictured him as…

<img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img class="cm-post-image-box-default" src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" />

Encounter with Emancipation, by Naomi W. Cohen

by Jonathan D. Sarna

After years of being scorned or ignored by historians, America's German Jews are finally being rehabilitated. The historical lens, focused…

<img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img class="cm-post-image-box-default" src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" />

Jewish Life in Philadelphia 1840-1940, edited by Murray Friedman

by Jonathan D. Sarna

American Jewish communities of all sizes and in every region of the country now sport handsomely illustrated and often bulky…

<img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img data-src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" class="cm-post-image-box-default lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" /><noscript><img class="cm-post-image-box-default" src="https://www.commentary.org/wp-content/themes/beck-and-stone/assets/img/default-image.svg" />

The Jewish Way of Crime

by Jonathan D. Sarna

The seamier side of modern Jewish life has in recent years become the subject of considerable scholarly interest. We now…