AMRICAN Jewish Striggle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

AMRICAN Jewish Striggle - Essay Example At the same time, those from Germany called themselves Ashkenazi Jews (Rosove 50). With the American Independence, the nation granted its citizens freedom which extended to religion. Consequently, Jews had to struggle against members of their community dissenting from their Judaic religion to join among other religious inclinations, Christianity, Atheism and secular ways of life. Jews had to withstand prejudices promoted by the freedom of worship in the United States. Starting from the 1840, American Jews struggled against widespread adoption of American models in their synagogues which threatened their long-held traditions. For example, rabbis began to merge aspects of their religion with Orthodox and Protestant American denominations as others sought to adopt the Reform Judaism (Rosove 52). When the American Civil War began, Jews also found themselves split into Southern pro-slavery and Northern anti-slavery Jews. The ensuing tensions brought anti-Semitic sentiments in America to the fore. In the armies, Jews fought to have their own chaplains until the law was amended to allow this (normally, only Christian ordained ministers occupied this role). In 1872, General Order No.1; an anti-Jewish order called for the expulsion of Jews from General Ulysses Grant’s army regiment. Protests by Jews made President Abraham Lincoln reverse the order (Sarna and Golden). Politics, particularly prior to and after World War II has presented a trying existence for American Jews. The persecution of Jews by the Stalinist regime in Russia, the Nazi regime in Germany and the Holocaust show manifestations of Jewish struggles that account for significant immigration to the U.S (Charters 24). After 1948, American Jews have fought with allegiance and political identity issues around the sense of belonging to the Zionist nation of Israel and the U.S. The Palestinian and Arab World challenge on the