Jewish Studies Commons^™

Lawson, Steven, Gabriella Luongo

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarized by Gabriella Luongo

Steven Lawson, born in 1945, was raised in the Bronx, New York, in a working-class Jewish family. He grew up on Morris Avenue in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and describes his childhood as vibrant, safe, and deeply shaped by urban community life. His daily world included local public schools, neighborhood parks, and weekend dances at community centers such as the YM/YWHA, along with frequent trips to nearby movie theaters. He recalls being immersed in the popular music of the time, especially doo-wop and early rock and roll, which reflected the social and emotional atmosphere of his …

Berlin, Sherry, Jessica Amselem

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Jessica Amselem

Sherry Berlin, grew up in multiple neighborhoods in the Bronx, beginning on Longfellow Avenue in the South Bronx and later moving at age five to Kingsbridge in the Northwest Bronx, near Riverdale. Her maternal grandparents immigrated from Poland/Russia and settled in the Bronx, where they owned grocery stores and remained closely involved in her upbringing. Berlin’s early childhood was rooted in a predominantly Jewish community, while her later years in Kingsbridge exposed her to a more ethnically mixed environment, including Irish and Italian neighbors.

Berlin’s movement across different parts of the Bronx shaped her experiences of community, …

A Shattered World: Jews And Israel After October 7, Michael Berenbaum, Gilbert N. Kahn

The Jewish Role in American Life: An Annual Review

October 7, 2023, was a watershed event in contemporary Jewish history. What took place on that date challenged the two most basic assumptions of post-Holocaust Jewish life: that the future security of the Jewish people would be assured by an independent Jewish state backed by an army, and that the freedom for Jews in the Diaspora to live as Jews would be secured by democratic rights and liberties. The pogroms of October 7 and the worldwide explosion of antisemitism that followed—even preceding Israel taking military action against Hamas—challenged both assumptions. The Israel Defense Forces could not prevent a slaughter from …

Gritz, Helen, Sophia Maier Garcia

Bronx Jewish History Project

Helen Gritz, b. 1929, grew up on Barnes Avenue in the Northeast Bronx. Her parents immigrated from Poland, her father arriving first and her mother having to enter illegally through Canada after the establishment of the 1924 Quota Acts. Her father was an expert tailor and a Communist. They lived in an Italian and Jewish neighborhood, with the Jews living in apartment buildings and the Italians living in one-family homes. Nearby, Allerton Avenue was the main shopping area.

Gritz was not allowed to play with the “gasn kinder” (street children) as a young child, instead playing with her …

Unsettled Ground: How Jewish Undergraduates Are Negotiating Identity Shifts And (Un)Civil Campus Discourse After October 7, Vikki Katz, Emma Forman, Noel H. Mcguire

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The post–October 7th period has been a period of redefinition for many Jewish American undergraduates and particularly for those who identify as politically left-of-center and who found themselves encountering anti-Israel and antisemitic attitudes among peers and organizations they had been part of previously. Via in-depth interviews with Jewish American undergraduates and their non-Jewish peers, this study documents undergraduates’ realignments of their Jewish and political identities and examines how those identity changes explain the students’ decisions to engage in, or avoid, discussions with peers about October 7, the war in Gaza and the broader Middle East conflict, and/or rising U.S. antisemitism.

Jewish Emigration And Satire In The Soviet Union (Ca. 1970), Jack I. Reppen

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

The Dymshits-Kuznetsov affair provides an important case study of the use of satire in Soviet media, primarily through easily understood cartoons like the ones seen in Krokodil. These satirical cartoons exploit Jews for alleged scapegoatism, anti-Sovietism, and other characteristics relating to internal problems. In this paper, the author explores the idea that when disinformation disguises itself as satire, it subverts the revolutionary and critical components that are traditionally attributed to the genre of satire.

How Much Antisemitism Is There In The United States? Incidences Vs. Impacts, Ira Sheskin

FIU Law Review

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) (www.adl.org), founded in 1913, is one of the nation's premier civil rights organizations and was formed to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Every year since 1979, the ADL has published an Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in the US (https://www.adl.org/resources/report/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2023). The Audit receives significant publicity and is important in communicating the problem of serious antisemitic incidents and the year-to-year increases in such incidents. But, based on surveys of American Jews, the Audit underestimates the extent to which American Jews are being impacted by antisemitism. Survey data …

"Bp", Gavin Fryer

Bronx Jewish History Project

BP was born in 1937 in Pelham Parkway, and moved to the Parkchester housing development in 1941, where he grew up. He recalls the convenient amenities such as nearby shopping and playgrounds, but notes the occasional shortages and power outages connected to World War II. He also shares his experiences with antisemitism, citing the 4.7% quota on Jewish tenants and taunts from children while coming home from school.

BP led a busy, studious childhood at JHS 98 and the Bronx High School of Science, from which he graduated in 1954. He continued his education at New York University’s University Heights …

Silver. Jerry And Irene, Reyna Lee Stovall

Bronx Jewish History Project

Jerry Silver grew up in the Bronx after moving from Brooklyn in the mid-1930s. His family rented an apartment on Kruger Avenue before buying a home on Holland Avenue during the Depression. Jerry attended PS 96 and PS 76 before graduating early from Christopher Columbus High School and later earning his undergraduate and law degrees from NYU. He fondly remembers playing in the street, working part-time jobs, and being passionate about baseball, often attending games. He served in the military from 1952 to 1954, started a small law practice in the Bronx, and worked extensively with the Legal Aid Society. …

“In Proverbiis Non Semper Veritas”: Reflections On The Reprint Of An Antisemitic Proverb Collection, Wolfgang Mieder

Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

This article concerns the highly questionable 2016 reprint of Ernst Hiemer’s antisemitic proverb collection Der Jude im Sprichwort der Völker (1942, The Jew in the Proverbs of the People). It begins with a glance at earlier antisemitic proverb collections while also reviewing some of the superb Yiddish and Jewish/Hebrew proverb collections and serious studies on this rich repertoire of proverbs. This is followed by a discussion of the misguided antisemitic publications of the nineteenth century that were precursors of even more slanderous and prejudiced collections that appeared during the time of National Socialism. It is shown that both traditional …

Gilbert, Jeff, Sophia Maier Garcia

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Jeff Gilbert, born 1951, grew up on Walton Avenue nearby Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Both of his parents were born in New York, with his great-grandparents and grandparents immigrating from Hungary, Austria, and Poland. Gilbert describes the neighborhood at the time as 99% Jewish, and he lived next door to the Congregation Hope of Israel, despite being educated at and attending Tremont Temple. Among the amenities in the “self-contained neighborhood for shopping” were bakeries, movie theaters, grocery stores, and butchers. Gilbert remembers most Val’s Luncheonette for the delicious food, famous athletes, and the money he made …

Brooks, Martin, Reyna Lee Stovall

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Martin Brooks, b. 1947, lived in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx until he was five years old. He then lived with his family in Germany for three years, before returning to the Bronx until the age of 11. His father had served in WWII, and they had moved to Germany as part of his service. Brooks’ mother worked as a secretary but became at stay-at-home mother when Brooks was born, despite wanting to stay in the workforce.

Brooks recalls going to pickle stores, delis, bakeries, and butches along Lydig Avenue and the Allegro Inn, an …

Fredrics, Howard, Reyna Lee Stovall

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Howard Fredrics paternal grandparents came from Poland, and his maternal grandparents came from Ukraine, eventually all settling in the Bronx. His parents, both living in the Bronx, met in the Catskills, where his father was performing as a magician. Fredrics himself lived on Walton Avenue across the street from Joyce Kilmer Park. He remembers playing in that park, going to the candy store and deli, and visiting his family members’ stores. He would go with his father, a professional magician with various other jobs, to rent pigeons in the Bronx for his shows, which Fredrics would later …

Cohen, Cheryl, Reyna Lee Stovall

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Cheryl Cohen grew up on Kruger Avenue and Pelham Parkway South, which she describes as 95% Jewish during her time there. Her parents were both born in the United States, her mother of a nonreligious background and her father attending a small Orthodox shul on the holidays. Cohen herself did not have a Jewish education but dressed up for the holidays with her friends and closely associates her Jewish identity with Zionism, moving to Israel in her 20s. Her father, who first worked for his father-in-law’s factory, opened a small store, where her mother worked as well …

Pafundi, Barbara, Sophia Maier Garcia

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Barbara Pafundi, born 1952, grew up in Parkchester in the East Bronx. Her grandparents immigrated from Ukraine and Romania, and her father was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Pafundi describes Parkchester as primarily Jewish and Irish and a really beautiful place to grow up, with green areas around the apartment buildings. She would go with her family to the local Chinese restaurant, grocery stores, and library. Reading is a continued love. In the summers, they would go up to Putnam Valley.

Pafundi explains they never felt antisemitism, except she is not sure if St Helena’s would purposefully …

Schaechter Viswanath, Gitl, Sophia Maier Garcia

Bronx Jewish History Project

Gitl Schaechter Viswanath was born into a Yiddish-speaking family. Her father came from Romania to the United States in 1951, becoming a renowned Yiddish linguist and Columbia professor. He and his wife wanted to raise their children speaking Yiddish within a Yiddish community, and so they created this community with two other families living near one another on Bainbridge Avenue in the north-central Bronx, the Fishmans and the Gottesmans. The families were primarily secular but focused on Jewish culture and tradition.

Schaechter Viswanath attended PS 56 and describes the school and area as primarily Jewish. After school, she went to …

Genis, June, Sophia Maier Garcia

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

June Genis lived in the Bronx from the time she was three years old until she left for college in 1963. When he father, who had been a dentist, passed away, Genis and her mother moved to Creston Avenue and 192^nd Street near Fordham Road and the Grand Concourse to be closer to her family. At the time, the area was predominantly Jewish, with some Irish and Italians. They were surrounded by major shopping areas on Fordham and Kingsbridge Roads, and across the street from St. James park where Genis played as a child. Starting in …

Sandler, Ruth, Kathryn Amend

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Ruth Sandler, born 1940, grew up in the East Bronx near the Bronx Zoo, where she would go with her parents. Her mother came to the United States in 1921, and her father came in 1938, though his family unfortunately remained in what was then Poland, his sisters dying in the Holocaust. Her father became a children’s clothing presser in the garment district, despite owning a business back in Europe. Sandler remembers being told her first language was Yiddish, not speaking English until entering school. She attended PS 57, participating in school plays there. Education was important, …

Flaxman, Judy, Laura Oldfather

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Judy Flaxman’s family came to the Lower East Side from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. As they grew more affluent, they moved to the Bronx, where Flaxman was born in 1948. She lived on Walton Avenue near Tremont Avenue, which she describes as very Jewish with some Catholics. She attended PS 28, Wade Junior High School, and Bronx Science. She played many outdoor games with friends from her community and did after school activities at the YM/WHA, through which she attended a day camp during the summers.

Flaxman’s mother was a secretary and her father, after …

Mochon, Lynne, Patricia Scully

Bronx Jewish History Project

Summarizer: Sophia Maier

Lynne Mochon, born 1951, grew up on the campus of Maritime College. Her father, who left Warsaw in 1922, was educated in pre-state Israel and then MIT, before becoming a professor of science at Maritime. Her mother, born in Queens, worked at Maritime, and, as the only Jewish people working there together at the time, they got married, have Mochon and her older sister. Mochon describes Maritime as a small community of about 14 families, where the children were similar in age and played together by the water. She remembers some antisemitism among the staff, her father …

Liptzin, Benjamin "Ben", Lydia Wampold

Bronx Jewish History Project

Ben Liptzin grew up in the Bronx on 168th Street between the Grand Concourse and Sheridan Avenue in a four-room apartment above a laundromat. His parents were Polish Jewish immigrants, and his father worked as a presser in the garment industry. Liptzin attended a yeshiva until 5th grade, after which he entered the public school system. He later attended the Bronx High School of Science, Columbia University, and medical school in Rochester. Liptzin became a geriatric psychiatrist and taught at institutions including the University of Massachusetts and Mount Sinai. He later served as Chair of Psychiatry at Baystate Medical Center …

Sects, Lies, And Videotape: Debunking Deadly Tropes About Jews And Israel In Tv, Film And Media, Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

The "Beyond Film" panel, "Sects, Lies, and Videotape: Debunking deadly tropes about Jews and Israel in TV, film and media" occurred at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. This is a summary of the presentation.

Antisemitism & Vampires: The Surprising Roots Of A Popular Cultural Monster, Hannah Ross

English

This essay was for Justin Shaw’s fall 2023 English major capstone class. The essay examines antisemitism and vampires, specifically Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, John Polidori’s short story The Vampyre; A Tale, and the episode “Monster Movie” from the TV show Supernatural through the lens of antisemitic stereotypes. By looking at the literary history of the vampire one can trace its physical antisemitic stereotypes and the influence of fear of the “other” with reverse-colonization by Jews. Starting with historically classic 19th century texts and ending with a modern day television show, it is evident that the antisemitic physical stereotypes …

“You Are Not Obligated To Complete The Work, But Neither Are You Free To Desist From It.” Richmond Jews In Social Activism Post Civil Rights, Tracy S. Herman

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, the Jewish people have faced expulsions, pogroms, massacres, and Propaganda. that runs so deep it would be like staring into an abyss. This oppression has motivated Jewish activists worldwide to fight back not only on behalf of the Jewish community but for many areas of perceived need. Jewish involvement in social activism in the U.S. has been particularly recognized by scholars of the labor and Civil Rights movements. This thesis is based on eighteen oral history interviews focused on social activism in Richmond, Virginia since the Civil Rights era. The author conducted these interviews in 2021, 2023, and …

Renewing Study Into The Oldest Hatred: Introduction To The Law Vs. Antisemitism Symposium, David Schraub

Lewis & Clark Law Review

This short essay provides an introduction to the Lewis & Clark Law Review's "Law vs. Antisemitism" symposium, which grew out of the conference by the same name hosted at Lewis & Clark in the spring of 2023. In addition to overviewing the contributions to the symposium, the introduction provides some background on the relative paucity of legal scholarship that has addressed antisemitism, and the importance of including antisemitism in the otherwise robust legal academic conversation occurring around other forms of oppression and social discrimination.

The Anti-Defamation League And The Evolution Of Hate Crime Laws, Steven M. Freeman

Lewis & Clark Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Displaced Persons Act Of 1948 And Home-Grown Antisemitism, Felice Batlan

Lewis & Clark Law Review

This Article examines the 1948 Displaced Persons Act which provided for the ability of certain European refugees to immigrate to the United States following World War II. The 1948 Act discriminated against Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and imprinted Nazi racial laws and ideology upon U.S. law. Moreover, in debates over passage of such a law, a vast amount of overt antisemitism emerged, generated by politicians and ordinary citizens, which went well beyond the question of the admission of refugees to the United States. By examining the complex and transnational events leading up to the 1948 Displaced Persons Act, and …

Antisemitic Terrorism, J. Richard Broughton

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Recent surges in antisemitic activity—and antisemitic violence, in particular—have led increasingly to conversations about the connections between antisemitism and domestic terrorism. While the nexus between antisemitic violence and domestic terrorism has long been expressed in rhetorical terms, its connection in legal terms—notably, federal criminal law—has been more attenuated. This Article explores that connection and finds that existing federal criminal law requires rethinking: it is underinclusive and thus inadequate to fully capture and punish the threats posed by today’s domestic violent extremism, and particularly antisemitic violence. The Article surveys recent federal prosecution in cases involving actual or threatened antisemitic violence, and …

Politicizing Antisemitism Amidst Today’S Educational Culture Wars, Lili Levi

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The traditional narrative of American Jewry emphasizes American exceptionalism with respect to antisemitism. But there have been clear signs of a resurgence of public antisemitism in the United States even before the massive rise in antisemitic expression and incidents associated with the Israel-Hamas war of fall 2023.

One of the notable aspects of the rise and normalization of antisemitic expression is the deployment of antisemitism as a political tool. For example, in addition to Democrats and Republicans accusing each other of complicity in antisemitism, both federal policy since the Trump era and state antiantisemitism legislation have targeted campus antisemitism in …

The Legally Binding Character Of The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition Of Anti-Semitism, Kenneth L. Marcus

Lewis & Clark Law Review

No abstract provided.