An introduction to an exhibition at the Harvard Semitic Museum on the occasion of Harvard's 350th anniversary, September 1986. Discusses the proposed quota for Jewish students at Harvard in 1922, when the Jewish student body had reached 22%. Harvard president A. Lawrence Lowell (also vice-president of the Immigrant Restrictive League) feared that the influx of "undesirable" Jewish students would prevent others from applying, undermine the university's American tradition, and heighten antisemitism. Describes reactions of alumni, students, and the press. Although an investigating committee affirmed the traditional policy of non-discrimination, an unofficial quota was adopted in 1925 and lasted until the 1950s. Regarding Radcliffe, there is evidence of tacit restrictions on Jewish admissions, but relations between Jewish and Gentile students were good. Includes excerpts from memoirs, and reprints of articles about social prejudice against Jews.

Published on the 350th anniversary of the first Jews to arrive in America, this comprehensive history of the Jews of Boston is now available in a revised and updated paperback edition. The stunning work combines illuminating essays by distinguished Jewish historians with 110 rare photographs to trace the community from its tentative beginnings in colonial Boston through its emergence in the twentieth century as one of the most influential and successful Jewish communities in America. The volume also presents fascinating information about Boston’s synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods as well as the evolution of Jewish culture in Boston and the United States.Praise for the previous edition:“The writing is engaging and lucid, and the superb, profuse illustrations enhance the text. While numerous community histories have been published, this volume is in a class by itself--and will set the standard for all future works of this kind.”—Library Journal“For those of us who grew up with anecdotes of what being a Jew was like in, say, the South End in 1910, or in Roxbury or Chelsea in 1920, this history, collected in one place for the first time, fills in the blanks. It gives us the context for our inherited folk tales.”—Alan Lupo, Boston Globe

This volume delineates the link between Judaism and Christanity, between Old and the New Testaments, and calls Christians to reexamine their Hebrew roots so as to effect a more authentically biblical lifestyle.

What made Henry Kissinger the kind of diplomat he was? What experiences and influences shaped his worldview and provided the framework for his approach to international relations? Suri offers a thought-provoking, interpretive study of one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the twentieth century.

This volume contains articles on Jewish life from 1920 to the present. Its entries include studies of the economy and migration in postwar America, the impact of Holocaust survivors on American Society and the reaction to gender stereotypes within American Culture.

By the turn of the twentieth century, academic nativism had taken root in elite American colleges—specifically, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant hegemony was endangered by new kinds of student, many of them Catholic and Jewish immigrants. The newcomers threatened to displace native-born Americans by raising academic standards and winning a disproportionate share of the scholarships. The Half-Opened Door analyzes the role of these institutions, casting light on their place in class structure and values in the United States. It details the origins, history, and demise of discriminatory admissions processes and depicts how the entrenched position of the upper class was successfully challenged. The educational, and hence economic, mobility of Catholics and Jews has shown other groups—for example, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Spanish-speaking Americans—not only the difficulties that these earlier aspirants had in overcoming class and ethnic barriers, but the fact that it can be done. One of the ironies of the history of higher education in the United States is the use of quotas by admissions committees. Restrictive measures were imposed on Jews because they were so successful, whereas benign quotas are currently used to encourage underrepresented minorities to enter colleges and professional schools. The competing claims of both the older and the newer minorities continue to be the subject of controversy, editorial comments, and court cases—and will be for years to come.

A unique, positive collection of essays profiles a number of forgotten female Jewish leaders who played key roles in various American social and political movements, from suffrage and birth control to civil rights and fair labor practices.