Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
If the Statue of Liberty Were a Real Person
Abandoning her pedestal, the Statue of Liberty drowns herself in sorrow about US anti-immigration policies.
Grant’s Order No. 11 and Jewish Distrust after the Civil War
In 1862, Grant expelled Jews from his military district. Two decades later, political cartoons mocked his attempt to win back Jewish support.
Baghdad, Yesterday: Sasson Somekh’s Memoir of Jewish Life in Iraq
Sasson Somekh’s memoir reflects on Jewish life in twentieth-century Iraq—its culture, turmoil, and the mass migration to Israel.
The Besaïd Family: Irma Ychou’s Portrait of Algerian Jews under French Rule
Irma Ychou’s 1947 novel The Besaïd Family explores Algerian Jewish life under French colonial rule, revealing generational change and cultural transformation.
“Weekend Update” Ridicules Trump’s Approach to Antisemitism
Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” pokes fun at Trump’s executive order on combating antisemitism.
Alliance Israélite Universelle: Jewish Education in North Africa
Discover Ladino letters from Alliance Israélite Universelle schools in French North Africa, revealing Jewish education, culture, and politics in the 1920s and 1930s.
Medal Honoring Moses Montefiore: The 1840 Damascus Affair
This Berlin-struck medal commemorates Moses Montefiore and Adolphe Crémieux’s 1840 mission, which freed Jews falsely accused in the Damascus Affair.
Jewish Human Rights Group Criticizes Trump’s 2019 Order
A Jewish human rights organization warned that Trump’s 2019 antisemitism order threatened free speech and revived old tropes about Jewish power.
DeFunis v. Odegaard and Jewish Ambivalence on Affirmative Action
A decade after the Civil Rights Act, DeFunis v. Odegaard tested affirmative action—and raised Jewish anxieties over race, equality, and belonging in America.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title VI’s Jewish Dilemma
Passed amid civil rights reforms, Title VI banned racial bias in federally funded institutions but excluded religion—leaving Jews in legal limbo.
Jewish Military Service in the Ottoman Empire: A New Era of Inclusion
Reports that Jews might be drafted into the Ottoman army sparked debate on equality and belonging, with Ben-Yehuda urging Jews to embrace service.
The Fight for Chinese American Citizenship
As a Jewish civil rights lawyer, Max Kohler exposed how the Chinese Exclusion Acts violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equality under the law.