Jonathan D. Sarna is University Professor and the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and chair of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. He is also past president of the Association for Jewish Studies and chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. Author or editor of more than 30 books, his American Judaism: A History won six awards. His most recent book is the award-winning Lincoln & the Jews: A History (with Benjamin Shapell).
For the first time in history, we knew in advance that the winner of the 2016 presidential election would have a Jewish son-in-law – Marc Mezvinsky or Jared Kushner.
The values of the American Revolution – liberty, freedom, and especially democracy – profoundly affected the small colonial Jewish community and laid the groundwork for Reform Judaism.
As a Union general, Grant expelled Jews from his war zone; as president of the United States of America, he set a new national tone that helped usher in a brief "golden age" in the history of the American Jewish community. This year-the 150th anniversary of the Civil War-is an