Jews met anti­semitism on land­ing in New Ams­ter­dam in 1654 when Peter Stuyvesant tried to expel them. The found­ing of the US changed lit­tle, as neg­a­tive Euro­pean stereo­types root­ed into Amer­i­can soil. They faced restric­tions on hold­ing office, admis­sion to schools, and employ­ment in indus­try, while their syn­a­gogues and ceme­ter­ies were van­dal­ized. Recent­ly, white nation­al­ists chant­ed ​“Jews will not replace us” in Char­lottesville, Vir­ginia, and a gun­man killed eleven mem­bers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life syn­a­gogue build­ing. Anti­se­mit­ic inci­dents have increased each year.

In Anti­semitism, an Amer­i­can Tra­di­tion, schol­ar Pamela S. Nadell inves­ti­gates the depth of this fraught his­to­ry. She explores how Jews bat­tle anti­semitism through the law and by cre­at­ing orga­ni­za­tions to speak for them. Jews would also fight back with their fists or join with allies in fight­ing all types of hate. This momen­tous work sounds the alarm on a hatred that con­tin­ues to plague our country.