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Why Jews were like everyone else — only more so — during slavery and the Civil War

JL;DR SUMMARY Richard Kreitner's book, "Fear No Pharoah: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery," examines the complex role of Jews during the era of slavery in the United States, challenging myths of Jewish over-involvement or sole opposition. 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 HistoryJewish IdentitySlaveryCivil WarJudah BenjaminRacial DynamicsEmma MordecaiAbolitionismRichard Kreitner

Places mentioned

Chicago, Illinois, United States
"A Chicago rabbi, Liebmann Adler, welcomed the conclusion of the Civil War and the end to slavery, a disaster in an otherwise blessed land."
Virginia, United States
"Emma Mordecai, a Virginia Jew, prepared, for the first time, a Seder without the help of her enslaved servants."
London, United Kingdom
"Judah Benjamin, the Jewish secretary of the state for the Confederacy, survived a series of shipwrecks and fled to London."
Poland
"...city where Ernestine Rose, the abolitionist, atheist daughter of a Polish rabbi relocated..."

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Cairo Item ID 47704
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-03-28 05:31:06 UTC
Curated 2025-03-28 08:30:54 UTC