A Short history of Jews in the land of freedom
The main Jewish communities in the United States were formed during the 17th century. The Jews who had established there before were mostly of Sephardic origin – the victims of Spanish persecution, for example. For the next 100 years, the immigration went slowly, with a significant increase at the end of the 18th century, when the victims of pogroms in Eastern Europe chose to start a new life instead of being victims of the permanent harassments and dangers. Gradually, they were joined by German Jews, richer and more integrated.
At the end of the 19th century, there were officially registered around 250,000 Jews and the number augmented substantially with the arrival of the Russian and Polish Jews. Most part of them was speaking Yiddish – a language developed during the 10th century by the communities living in the German lands – and was born in small rural communities.
Facing the new challenges
For many of them, the arrival in what they called sometimes “goldene medina” – “the country of gold” – represented a shock. The dangers of assimilation and secularization were big, due also to the lack of a proper religious system and a different mentality in comparison with the world they were living before. The literature of the time is plenty of characters facing the difficult choice of starting a new and better life while giving up the traditions and the religious practice. Little by little, the cultural definition of identity started to prevail allowing the development of the current rich repertoire of Jewish communities in America, embracing practically all the mainstreams of Judaism.
In the period between the end of the 19th century and 1924, almost 2 million Jews arrived in America. The communities went stronger and a proper institutional network of synagogues and schools was developed. In 1924, a National Quota was created in order to restrict immigration, a regulation that dramatically put in danger the lives of Jews who wanted to escape Nazi Germany.
Almost 500,000 Jews fought during the World War II, out of which 10,000 were giving their lives for the freedom of Europe.
Post-war developments
After Shoah, the world would never be the same. Many survivors settled in the US and contributed to the renewal of the communal life. The blessed memory of those who perished is commemorated with reverence as a reminder of what could happen when the individuals and the world remain indifferent and avoid taking stances.
New York remains one of the most important towns on the map of the Jewish life, but smaller or large communities, following the strict religious, reform or liberal mainstreams, were created on the whole territory of the United States. According to the statistics, around 1,750,000 Jews are living in the New York City. Other cities with a high concentration of Jewish communities are Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston.
The Jews supported the civil rights movement and all the measures aiming to create a better and inclusive society. The Jewish public intellectuals, writers and artists always played an important role in the American history and contributed significantly to the profile of the current society in the US.
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