Since 1776, Jews have been deeply involved in the American democratic experiment. Yet they have rarely spoken with one political voice. Across generations, American Jews produced diverse perspectives on how to best realize the democratic ideals of citizenship, equality, and social and economic justice. Many worked within institutional networks to advocate for their most cherished causes, while others operated outside the mainstream and favored radical politics. While often united by a commitment to democratic participation, these factions frequently disagreed over the most effective means of achieving their goals for themselves and others. This panel examines the diversity of American Jewish thought and activism in the effort to identify larger trends in their political behavior.

The American Jewish experience has long been marked by contradictions. While Jews have enjoyed unprecedented opportunities for religious freedom and civic participation in the United States, they have frequently been exposed to antisemitism.  Jews have long occupied a liminal position in American society, being viewed as both esteemed insiders and despised outsiders, loyal centrists and radical subversives, white allies and non-white “others.” How have American Jews have responded to this equivocal treatment? To what degree have Jews experienced hostility from the political right and left?  To what degree have they responded to it by forging alliances with other marginalized groups? To what extent have Jews viewed the preservation of democracy as essential to their communal safety? 

As in the sphere of domestic affairs, American Jews have displayed a wide range of views on American foreign policy. Balancing their civic commitments at home with a deep sense of global responsibility, Jews have established a long record of advocacy and activism pertaining to the most pressing and controversial world issues. Between debates over Zionism and the State of Israel, relations with postwar Germany, the domestic tumult surrounding the Vietnam War, and the mass mobilization of the Soviet Jewry movement, international events frequently reshaped American Jewish political practices. Panel three surveys how American Jewish engagement with foreign policy has both harmonized and clashed with their views on domestic issues.

For decades after 1945, scholars held that the course of American Jewish history was “exceptional.” They maintained that unlike that of European Jewry, the story of America’s Jews was defined by religious liberty and democratic inclusion. In recent decades, however, political polarization, violent antisemitism, and threats to democratic institutions have eroded the belief in American Jewish exceptionalism. As scholars increasingly agree that “exceptionalism” has outlived its usefulness, panel four questions how American Jewish history should be narrated and understood in a post-exceptionalist world.