As antisemitism surges and American Jews are experiencing insecurities about their life in America that they have not felt for decades, questions have arisen about whether America was quite the Goldene Medina – golden country – that was portrayed for 60 years between 1910 and 1970. This is not a mere theoretical matter but one that has direct impact on how we approach the negative turn that is today’s reality. 

Clearly, on the face of it, Jewish life changed for the better with the arrival of the civil rights revolution in the 1950s and 1960s, with the impact of the Holocaust on Americans’ views of Jews, and the general opening up of American society.  

Before the war, while Jewish life in America was obviously better than anything Europe presented, there were significant limits on true freedom and normalcy for American Jews. Most significantly, Jews had hesitations in many settings from showing their true selves and identity. Whether it was in education, the business world, the military or other forms of daily life,........

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