It's part heritage, part occupational hazard--but I have seen more than my fair share of documentaries about Jews. Many of them center on the Holocaust, or the post-Holocaust triumph and redemption earned through the creation of the state of Israel. Others focus on "Jews and showbiz" or "Jews in comedy." I live in New York, and working in Jewish journalism, I've met many academics, historians, movers and shakers. I've been to the Lower East Side for both its history and its hipsters, many of whom I count among my colleagues and friends (and a few of whom, not entirely unexpectedly, pop up during the course of the film).
But with the arrival of "The Jewish-Americans," David Grubin's three-night series airing on PBS beginning tonight, I'm humbled by what I don't know about my own heritage: as one of the eponymous Jewish-Americans (or, depending on the day, American Jews), even in my modern laptop-bearing writer's life--a few dozen blocks north and emotional miles away, but a mere three generations from--a member of an immigrant nation.
They came to a land that was rumored to be paved with gold, and instead was found to be teeming with immigrants of all nationalities. Through photographs, letters, and family histories told by their descendants (and outstanding narration by Liev Schreiber, who seamlessly disappears into the narrator character, imbuing the voice of the series with mellifluous, and ageless tones) the stories of Jewish-Americans begin to emerge after the first settlement in the new land in 1654, run through colonial times, the Civil War (on both sides), and become foundational to business--both industrial and "show"--development in America. They were the union heads, trying to ensure fair labor practices, but in many cases, they were also the bosses, trying to ensure their corporation's success and often taking advantage of an immigrant population in need of work, any work, under any conditions.
But for a pop culture hound like me, the highlight of this film (a production of JTN Productions; WETA Washington, D.C.; and David Grubin Productions, Inc. in association with Thirteen/WNET New York) was watching the development of the Yiddish theater, the history of Irving Berlin, and the role that Jews--and the Borscht Belt--played in creating sketch and standup comedy. The sheer scope of the contributions of Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks alone deserves its own documentary, and to listen to Caesar and Reiner talk about the Jewishness of their acts--first hidden, then emergent--is to be aware of the extent of their impact on today's comedy and by extension, popular culture. But equally edifying was a segment about the involvement and subsequent scaling-back in involvement for Jews in the civil rights movement, and another part illustrating the legal contributions of Louis Brandeis (via the testimony of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Plus, an interview with Matisyahu about his spiritual and musical development provides a deeper biography than I've ever seen before. (Many clips from the film, as well as educational resources for teachers, are available online here.)
The series airs on three nights:
January 9: "They Came to Stay"/"A World of Their Own"
January 16: "The Best of Times, The Worst of Times"
January 23: "Home"
To find out when to watch, see here. Or ask your TiVo. It knows.
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I watched the first episode of Jewish Americans last night, and enjoyed it throughly. My overwhelming reaction was one of pride in the struggles and accomplishment of all my American Jewish predecessors. I also felt a twinge of sadness for what we have lost as we have assimilated. The Yiddish theater section was pretty thrilling for me too - I would love to see a documentary just on that, and/or on the music of the Yiddish theater, which was pretty wonderful stuff. In any case, I'm looking forward to the two remaining episodes.
To the gentleman who reminds us of the "until," I'm not so naive as to think it could never happen here, but I think it unlikely. One minor correction is that I'm pretty sure that Jews never made up two thirds of the Reichstag. Germany was relatively accepting, but never that much. It is true Jewish influence and accomplishment in Germany at its prewar peak was far greater than Jewish numbers would explain. In that sense German Jewry was similar to American Jewry.
That said, there are a lot of differences between then and there and here and now. For one thing, Germany had a long and very deeply rooted history of anti-semitism, going back at least as far as the crusades, one of which started off with widescale massacres of Jews across the Rhineland. Four centuries later other spasms of antisemitism during the Protestant Reformation sent us east into Poland, where we were initially more welcome. Not for nothing was Germany the home of the Passion Play. After emancipation of the Jews in the 19th century, the swift rise of German Jews was met with an equally striking intensification of anti-semitism, culminating in the "until." Even then it took a combination of Germany's WWI humiliation and defeat and the worst Depression of the modern era to bring the Nazis to power.
Anti-semitism in America has occasionally been nasty, but it has never been as virulent as it could get in Germany, and it wasn't and isn't nearly as deeply rooted or widespread here. Moreover, Jews in Germany were a very small other in a society that was otherwise ethnically very homogenous. In contrast, in America almost everybody is an other. Although we have a long history of ethnic clashes and discrimination, it is far outweighed by our tradition of tolerance of difference and our undertsanding of assimilation. The entire history of the US is marked by successive waves of immigrant others gradually becoming part of the American whole. These things are completely alien to anything the Germans would have experienced or understood, at least at any time before WW II. In a country as diverse as this, it's extremely difficult to single out the Jews as the other most in need of extinction. So while I agree that we should be watchful, I'm not really too worried.
missed it but will catch the other two if they ever come for me the steps to the attic will be covered with their blood and i wont live in fear like my little mother did checking a locked door many times saying you never know when the klan will come i believe diligence and standing up for everyone's freedom ensures ours regardless of whom we are i am southern union supporter on my father's side and from a jamaican jewish family on my mother's and i still want my olive grove, castle, and vinyard in spain
I don't know any place on this site ti ask a question. Is there any particular onr necessary attire to be worn to synagogue? My opinion is NO. You are attending services to pray not to arttend a fashion show. We live in Florida and some attendees have worn shorts to services. It is now not permitted. WHY?
Any responses with explanations and opinions will be greatly appreciated
mred163@hotmail.com
About the attire in synagogue - what you wear need not be lavish and pricey but we need to have a sense of decorum and respect for the shul, our fellow congregants and the prayers that we are offering. Would you go into a ward, church or mosque in shorts? Would you even be allowed to??
With regard to the percentage of Jews in the reichstag, refer to "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
You apparently live along the east coast of Florida. One of several Jewish ghettos. Move inland where the consentration of Jews and their inflence is not so great. There are still many goyim who believe we have horns and a tail.
Both in Germany and the US the anti-semitizm came from the people.
It was not gouvernment sponsored as in the "pagrums of Eastern Europe. or the Inquisition of Spain, Etc.
When you see grafeetee painted on walls in Brooklyn(with the largest consentration of Jews in America) that say "save oil burn a Jew" you know it is live and well among the people. Antisemitizm has a long history in every country in the world.
It is only more stelthy here since the creation of Israel.
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