Write on one of the assessments below based on material and arguments contained in Shapiro We are Many and Katz Why is America Different.
Anti-Semitism is no longer a serious problem for the American Jew
In today’s society, anti-Semitism is often seen as an ideology of the past and not an issue in today’s world. While anti-Semitism may have seen its peak over eighty years ago, it can be argued that there is still prejudice against the Jewish people and that it could even be on the rise again. European Jews faced years of anti-Semitism, leading to mass emigration from their home counties many coming to America. Many Jewish historians question whether the anti-Semitism differed from Europe to America and whether today if anti-semitism still exists for American Jews. Both Shapiro’s We Are Many and Katz’s Why is America Different discuss the issue of American Anti-Semitism and prove that there is still Anti-Semitism within the American community.
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Modern anti-Semitism was at its worst point after the civil war and the reconstruction era in American history circa 1860s-1940s. Anti-Semitism, according to social scientist, seems to be declining since WWII and some historians even argue that American Jews no longer face any type of prejudice. The discrimination of Jews from 1860s till the 1940s was seen in two forms, practical and ideological. Many Jews in the period after reconstruction faced physical discrimination, such as being excluded from hotels, universities, fraternities, hospitals, and also faced much social discrimination (Katz, 144). Ideological anti-Semitism affects the lives of Jews as well; people talking about Judaism in a negative way, and the way in which Jews were portrayed in the media. Both the physical and ideological sides of anti-Semitism affected people’s self identification with being