American Jews and Antisemitism
A Cincinnati Museum Center and Online Exhibit
Prepared by Joellyn W. Zollman

Exhibit Panel Correlation: "Prejudice and Response;" "Minority Rights and Majority Rule"

Ohio Standards Correlation:

History Standard: Grade 10, Points 9-14
People in Societies Standard: Grade 8, Point 2
People in Societies Standard: Grade 10, Point 1

From Haven to Home recognizes both the remarkable freedoms and successes that characterize American Jewish history and the stumbling blocks and prejudices that American Jews have experienced. While American antisemitism has never been as virulent as its European counterpart, neither is it lacking for examples of bigoted activity or behavior. Identifying the roots and expressions of American antisemitism, as well as the responses of American Jews to antisemitism, allows for a better understanding of the American Jewish experience. It also provides a springboard for discussion about issues of prejudice and discrimination against other minority groups in American history and life.

Note: For teachers and students interested in the origins and usage of the term "antisemitism," we include the following excerpt from the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia:

"Antisemitism: political, social, and economic agitation and activities directed against Jews. The term is now used to denote speech and behavior that is derogatory to people of Jewish origin, whether or not they are religious. The word Semitic originally was applied to all descendants of Shem, the eldest son of the biblical patriarch Noah. In later usage, it refers to a group of peoples of southwestern Asia, including both Jews and Arabs. The word antisemitism was coined about 1879 to denote hostility toward Jews only. This hostility is supposedly justified by a theory, first developed in Germany in the middle of the 19th century, that peoples of so-called Aryan stock are superior in physique and character to those of Semitic stock. Although the theory was rejected by all responsible ethnologists, widely read books incorporating antisemitic doctrines were written by such men as the French diplomat and social philosopher Comte Joseph Arthur de Gobineau and the German philosopher and economist Eugen Dühring. The theory of racial superiority was used to justify the civil and religious persecution of Jews that had existed throughout history. Many explanations of the phenomenon of antisemitism have been advanced. One theory, widely accepted by social scientists, suggests that antisemitism is nurtured in periods of social instability and crisis, such as those existing in Germany in the 1880s and in the era preceding World War II (1939-1945). Passions and frustrations engendered during such periods are theoretically deflected onto scapegoats, for example, an available, isolated minority, such as the Jews." (© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.)

THEMES

1. Equality
2. Tolerance and intolerance
3. Responding to injustice

1. Students will learn to identify themes in American antisemitism
2. Students will increase awareness of issues of prejudice and discrimination
3. Students will deepen their thinking about responses to bigotry

PRE-EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES

This activity asks students to find information on a website and then analyze that information as a means of introducing them to themes in American antisemitism and
allowing them to preview some of the documents and events that they will encounter in the exhibit.

I. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in 1913 as an organization dedicated to exposing and combating antisemitism. Its mission soon expanded to include the pursuit of justice and fair treatment for all people. To this end, the ADL reports and reacts to discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.

The ADL maintains a very informative website (www.adl.org). The website includes a history of the organization that can serve as a useful introduction to the history of American antisemitism. This history can either be printed out and distributed to students OR students can be directed to the appropriate section of the website to read the information online: http://www.adl.org/ADLHistory/intro.asp

All students, either alone or in groups, should read the introduction to the ADL history section (http://www.adl.org/ADLHistory/intro.asp) and then answer the following questions:

1. What is the ADL?
2. When and why was it founded?
3. List five examples of historical antisemitism mentioned in this article.
4. List two examples of contemporary antisemitism listed in this article.
5. List the six groups, in addition to Jews, that this article names as targets of contemporary discrimination.
6. Can you think of any other groups to add to this list?
(If yes, list and explain why you chose to add this group)

II. After reading the introduction and answering the questions, students can choose (or be assigned) a decade to focus on from the timeline menu on the left side of the page (www.adl.org/ADLHistory/intro.asp). From Haven to Home includes documents that specifically relate to the events described in the following decade summaries:

1913-1920
1920-1930
1930-1940
1940-1950
1960-1970

Students should read the specific decade summary they have chosen or to which they have been assigned and then answer the following questions:

1. Describe briefly an antisemitic group, event or attitude portrayed in your decade.

2. What sorts of fears, stereotypes, or other discriminatory attitudes toward Jews are reflected in this instance of antisemitism?

3. How, specifically, did the ADL respond to this instance of antisemitism?

4. Do you think that the ADL response was effective? Why or why not?

III. After reading the decade summary and answering the questions, students should come together as a class to address what they have learned about manifestations of and responses to antisemitism in America.

The teacher can list characteristics or themes of American antisemitism on the board and ask students to give examples of manifestations of these characteristics in the materials that they have read.

The discussion also should include the responses of the ADL to these various instances of discrimination.

EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES

This activity builds on the pre-exhibit activity by asking students to make connections between the material that they found on the ADL website and the material that they see in the exhibit.

Each student should search for a document or group of documents in the exhibit that represent an antisemitic attitude or incident that they read about in their decade summary. For example, students who read the "1913-1920" piece on the ADL website, which summarizes the Leo Frank lynching, should look for documents in the exhibit that address the Frank situation.

The decades and documents correspond as follows:

1913-1920:
Letter from Leo Frank
Picture of Leo Frank lynching
Correspondence: Stephen Wise to Henry Morganthal
The Masses, August, 1915

1920-1930:
International Jew (book in case)
The Truth About Henry Ford

1930-1940:
American Nationalist Party "Have You Read the Protocols?"
Liberation

1940-1950
Reigner Telegram
Sumner Wells letter to Wise

1960-1970
Kivie Kaplan with Abernathy and King
Letter from Jackie Robinson encouraging him to become president of the NAACP
Telegram from MLK congratulating Kaplan on becoming head of the NAACP
Rabbi Joachim Prinz at the March on Washington (video of speech on endcap)
Rabbi Joachim Prinz with President Kennedy
Note: These '60s documents do not reflect an antisemitic activity or attitude per se. Rather, they portray Jewish involvement in the civil rights movement-which was, in essence, a preemptive strike at antisemitism, as American Jews realized that by defending the inalienable rights of the oppressed, they were simultaneously safeguarding their own civil liberties.

Once they find the documents that correspond with their pre-exhibit research, they should read and review them all, and then choose one that they find particularly striking and answer the following questions:

1. What kind of document is this?

2. When was it written/created?

3. Who wrote or created it? How can you tell?

4. Why was this document written or created?

5. How does this document convey the writer's or creator's mood?

6. List two new things that this document tells you about the attitude/event described in your ADL decade summary.

7. List two things that this document tells you about antisemitism in the United States at the time it was created/written.

8. Describe the response of the American Jewish community/American Jewish leaders to the antisemitic act or attitude portrayed here.

POST-EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES

This activity asks students to apply the information that they gathered in the pre-exhibit and exhibit activities to contemporary hate crimes.

Students should re-visit the ADL website. This time, however, they should be directed to the contemporary hate crimes page (http://www.adl.org/combating_hate/). This page features articles on a wide variety of discriminatory attitudes and activities. Students should select an article that interests them, and then answer the following questions:

1. Describe, briefly, the discriminatory incident or attitude portrayed in this article.

2. What sorts of fears, stereotypes, or other discriminatory attitudes are reflected in this hate crime?

3. How is the hatred portrayed here similar to and different from the examples of historical antisemitism online and in the exhibit?

4. How, specifically, did the ADL respond to this particular instance of discrimination?

5. Do you think that the ADL response was effective? Why or why not?

6. How would you respond?