As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, ethnic communities use such occasions to take stock of how they have contributed to the broader society and in turn, how their host country has embraced and supported them.

The American Jewish experience has been described as distinctive, as no nation has so welcomed Jews as the United States, and correspondingly, Jews have made significant contributions to the evolution and development of this democracy. Here, we reference 12 principles that may best define this unique historic connection.

Preserving Religious Liberty:

From the earliest years of the United States, Jewish communities were both beneficiaries and advocates of religious liberty. The American Jewish experience has been deeply connected to constitutional protections for freedom of religion and conscience. Jewish organizations have often participated in legal and civic efforts to defend these principles for people of many faiths and for those with no religious affiliation.

One famous milestone was Moses Seixas’s 1790 letter welcoming George Washington, which prompted Washington’s reply affirming that the government would “give to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” That exchange became an enduring symbol of American religious equality.

American Jewish thinkers and organizations have often supported the principle of separation of church and state, the protection of minority religious rights, the promotion of interfaith dialogue and cooperation, and the advancement of legal defense of freedom of conscience for people of many faiths.

Defending Civil Rights and Social Justice:

Many American Jews played important roles in the struggle for equal rights; a few examples include Julius Rosenwald, who helped fund thousands of schools for African American children in the segregated South; Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were murdered during the 1964 Freedom Summer campaign and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose legal work advanced gender equality and constitutional rights.

Jewish organizations also worked alongside many other groups in campaigns involving voting rights, immigration reform, combating antisemitism, racism, and religious discrimination.

Establishing Major Social-Service Institutions:

Jewish tradition places strong........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)