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What was the Jewish record on slavery? It's (very) complicated.

JL;DR SUMMARY In "Fear No Pharaoh," Richard Kreitner delves into the complex relationship between American Jews and slavery during the 19th century, highlighting the diversity of Jewish perspectives based on various factors including geography, tradition, and political pressures. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryAssimilationCivil WarBlack Jewish RelationsJudah P. BenjaminEthical Dilemmas19th Century AmericaAbolitionismJews And SlaveryDavid Einhorn

Places mentioned

Louisiana, United States
"His principal subjects range politically from Judah P. Benjamin, the famous Louisiana lawyer, US Senator and Secretary of State for the Confederacy, to August Bondi, who bore arms alongside the radical abolitionist John Brown in the contested territory of Bleeding Kansas before the Civil War."
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
"Also firmly on the abolitionist side were the atheist and womens rights activist Ernestine Rose, the only woman of the six, and the uncompromising Baltimore Rabbi David Einhorn."
New York, United States
"New Yorks Orthodox Rabbi Morris J. Raphall, by contrast, cited scriptural texts in defense of slavery, while acknowledging that the brutal American version fell short of the standards of Mosaic law."
Tennessee, United States
"So, too, do milestones such as Gen. Ulysses S. Grants notorious General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Union-occupied areas of Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi."
Kentucky, United States
"So, too, do milestones such as Gen. Ulysses S. Grants notorious General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Union-occupied areas of Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi."
Mississippi, United States
"So, too, do milestones such as Gen. Ulysses S. Grants notorious General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Union-occupied areas of Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi."
Newport, Rhode Island, United States
"He touches on the career of the Lehman brothers, who made a fortune in the cotton trade before turning to banking; the Newport, R.I., slave trader Aaron Lopez; and the US War Departments telegraph operator, Edward Rosewater, who did not, contrary to myth, transmit the Emancipation Proclamation."
Washington, Washington DC, United States
"Tracing this ambiguous history, Kreitner finds the roots of the Black-Jewish civil rights alliance, never as stable or secure as often imagined. Still, he chooses optimism over despair, borrowing the idealistic words of Bayard Rustin, organizer of the 1963 March on Washington."
Israel
"At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse."

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Retrieved 2025-04-12 05:31:19 UTC
Curated 2025-04-12 08:30:38 UTC