The Evolution of Jews in the United States

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The Evolution of Jews in the United States

In the 1800’s, the Jewish community immigrated into the United States in search of economic opportunities and to escape persecution in Europe. Its appeal as an area with minimal antisemitism became an attraction for different factions. Therefore, a steady increase in their population occurred. For example, in 1790, they were 1,000. However, they grew from 15,000 in 1840 to 2,000,000 in 1914. As such, they developed networks of synagogues and practiced integration as well as assimilation with the broader American culture. Furthermore, they had also established businesses thus enabling them to live the American Dream (Scupin, Thomas and Robinson 49). The evolution from immigrants to citizenship within the US society facilitated their ascension to being a race. In fact, their population, political values and entrepreneurial engagement made them unavoidable.

In colonial times, Jews faced discrimination in the workplace, denied from purchasing certain properties, forced to accept the quota system for enrollment in colleges and denied entry into some social clubs. Sometimes, they too were blamed for the influx of alcohol and other drugs. Moreover, they too were victims of hate for their economic domination. As such, some of them became used to expulsion ultimatums by native residents who considered the competition for resources among the communities as unfair (Heinze 89). They also suffered physical abuses whose outcome would be uncertain. For instance, Alan Berg was murdered in 1984 due to his lineage and liberalistic opinion that seemed to favor the Jewish way of life. However, the advent of the American Civil Rights movement and the Second World War limited the escalation of anti-Semitic behavior across the US.

Presently, leaflets containing anti-Jewish leaflets containing comments originating from Nazi Germany are published and spread across cities in a bid to intimidate them. Additionally, vandalism has been used as a means to degrade this race as well as cause financial losses to the families. In most cases, the destruction is done under the guise of hatred (Diner 37). Harassment in public places encompassing ridicules and threatening behavior is common especially in neighborhoods with a sizeable number of Jewish populations. Due to the high American presence in these precincts, simmering tensions abound and these are revealed during such violent confrontations. Furthermore, voting patterns have been altered in some locations to diminish the political influence of these members thereby propagating conservative views.

Therefore, this racism is bound to increase due to the continued Israel occupation of Palestine. In most instances, the annexation of the West Bank sparks tensions among various communities thereby enhancing the hatred that they have towards Jews. Moreover, there is no projection of Israel’s willingness to promote a two state solution. Thus, the Jewish ethnicity in America will continue to face racist tendencies as retaliatory backlash for the conflict. However, different tactics may be applied. For instance, there would be more internet aggression due to the perceived uptake of social media networks (Scupin, Thomas, and Robinson 53). In fact, more people are having access to mobile cell phones and are active users of social media. They are bound to capitalize on its potential to reach many users within a short period as leverage to attack the Jewish race. The latter too will contend with making online responses thereby limiting the chances for physical abuses. However, the psychological torture that would ensue would be harmful for a healthy living. For example, it could lead to a person becoming suicidal.

Works Cited

Diner, Hasia. The Jews of the United States: 1354 to 2000. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Print.

Heinze, Andrew. Jews and the American Soul: Human Nature in the Twentieth Century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. Print.

Scupin, Raymond, Ellen Thomas and Alan Robinson. Race and Ethnicity: The United States and the World. (2^nd Edition). 2012. Print.