Barry Commoner for President
In 1980, Barry Commoner, a prominent biologist, environmentalist and author of Jewish parentage, ran as a candidate for the President of the United States. As the third party candidate…
An Organizer of Women
The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25, 1911, in which 146 workers died, was a major turning point in labor organization in the United States. The terrible tragedy…
Opening England
Menashe ben Israel (Manoel Dias Soeiro, 1604 -1657), whose family fled Portugal after the Lisbon auto-de-fe of 1603, was raised in Amsterdam where he received a full Jewish education and…
He Marched With King
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a twentieth century Jewish theologian whose intense commitment to social action brought him to the heart of the Civil Rights movement. Born in…
The Soviet Jewry Movement
May is Jewish American Heritage Month. At first glance, a discussion of the Soviet Jewry Movement may seem like an odd choice for Jewish American history, but the movement had a powerful…
Rabbi Eliezer Silver
Historians have noted the seemingly underwhelming response of the American Jewish community to the Holocaust as it unfolded in Europe. Among the few who were prominent activists was Rabbi…
David Ben Gurion, An Introduction
David Ben-Gurion is best known as the first Prime Minister of Israel. But, his role in the creation of the State was far greater than can be reflected in any single title. Born in 1886,…
Mr. Adams’ Attitude
In honor of President’s Day, Jewish Treats presents an overview of the interesting viewpoint on Jews held by the second President of the United States, John Adams. In 1808, after his…
Yente the Yiddish Writer
Yiddish literature entered its modern era in the 1860s, when Jewish writers began using the Germanic-Jewish language to compose stories and poems. Many of the early writers of this era…
A Math Teacher’s Life
Had Irving (Isaac) Adler not lived during the fervent era of the rise and decline of Communism, his personal story might have been the simple life of a mathematician dedicated to the…