Monthly Essay ·
American Jewry’s Anti-Semitism Reckoning
By Jack WertheimerThe post-October 7 explosion of hostility challenges decades of Jewish communal strategy.
Jack Wertheimer
Jack Wertheimer is emeritus professor of Modern Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary. His newest book, Jewish Giving: Philanthropy and the Shaping of American Jewish Life, has just been published by NYU Press.
Latest Content
Monthly Essay ·
What American Jews Gave After October 7: An Accounting
By Jack WertheimerIn response to crises in Israel and at home, American Jews mobilized to raise vast sums. But why was the community so unprepared? And did it rise to the occasion?
Observation ·
The Miracle of Jewish Pandemic Giving
By Jack WertheimerLong criticized in certain quarters for being, in essence, too Jewish, Jewish donors have risen admirably to the coronavirus occasion, proving their value once again.
Response ·
What the Coronavirus Has Shown—and Concealed—about the Long-Term Health of America’s Many Synagogues
By Jack WertheimerCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Monthly Essay ·
How Will Synagogues Survive?
By Jack WertheimerIt's been a year since most American synagogues closed their doors. Will the practices they adopted to survive undermine their prospects when the pandemic ends?
Observation ·
American Judaism’s Old Dinosaurs Roar Again
By Jack WertheimerAfter being written off for years as slow and outmoded, Jewish federations and other large institutions are proving themselves indispensable in their response to COVID-19.
Response ·
American Jews: Doomed to a Thin Culture with No Future?
By Jack WertheimerCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Monthly Essay ·
The New High Holy Days
By Jack WertheimerWhat happens when, once a year, the urge to accommodate every consumer fashion meets massive Jewish cultural illiteracy?
Response ·
Israel: The Canvas on Which American Jews Project Their Hopes and Fears
By Jack WertheimerCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Observation ·
American Jewry’s Great Untapped Resource: Grandparents
By Jack WertheimerThey've got time, money, and love to spare, and there are more of them than ever. Why isn't the Jewish community enlisting their help?
Response ·
No Apology for Alarm
By Jack Wertheimer, Steven M. CohenCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Monthly Essay ·
The Pew Survey Reanalyzed: More Bad News, but a Glimmer of Hope
By Jack Wertheimer, Steven M. CohenLast year’s survey of American Jews brought dire news—rising intermarriage, falling birthrates, dwindling congregations. Our reanalysis confirms the message, and complicates it.
Response ·
The Unresolved Dilemmas of Modern Orthodoxy
By Jack WertheimerCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Monthly Essay ·
Can Modern Orthodoxy Survive?
By Jack WertheimerThe culture wars have come to the Modern Orthodox movement. Is a schism on the horizon?
Response ·
Great Expectations—A Reply to My Respondents
By Jack WertheimerCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Monthly Essay ·
Intermarriage: Can Anything Be Done?
By Jack WertheimerThe battle is over; or so we’re told. A half-century after the rate of intermarriage in the US began to skyrocket, the Jewish community appears to have resigned itself to the inevitable. But to declar...
