Land That I Love

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

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For many American Jews, the approach of Hanukkah is a reminder of another miracle besides the one in Jerusalem two millennia ago: the miracle of their country, of the blessings it has showered on its Jewish citizens, and of its firm friendship with the state of Israel.

Relevant Links

Jews in the Psyche of America Steven Windmueller, Jewish Political Studies Review. Just as American society has embraced Jews, American Jewry has fully identified with the nation’s core values.

The Rag Trade Adam Mendelsohn, AJS Perspectives. London and New York in the mid-19th century were hubs of commerce in used clothing, much of it dominated by Jewish peddlers, dealers, re-fitters, and retailers.

Credit and Crisis Shelley Tanenbaum, AJS Perspectives. Throughout the Great Depression, the Jewish collective, in the form of mutual-aid and free-loan societies, helped Jewish individuals to hold on.

Keeping Shop Down South Stephen J. Whitfield, AJS Perspectives. From dry goods to department stores in two generations: the untold story of Jewish retailers in a region they did much to modernize.

Orrin Hatch's Hanukkah Song Jeffrey Goldberg, Tablet. Words by the Mormon Senator, music by a Jewish songwriter, performed by a Syrian-American.

Steven Windmueller of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion has written a crisp summary of the American Jewish experience and of the factors that have made it the exceptional phenomenon it is. Also just released are a handful of essays focusing on the economic life of American Jews, a subject that has received surprisingly little attention by scholars. And, in keeping with the spirit of the topic, nothing could be more apropos than a Hanukkah song featuring lyrics by a U.S. Senator from Utah.

Tags: American Judaism, American Zionism, Israel

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