Originally published in 1911, Jews, Race, and Environment presents the results of anthropological, demographic, pathological, and sociological investigations of people who identify themselves as Jews. At the time Fishberg wrote this book, there was widespread interest in the idea of Jews as a race and in the ethnic relationship of Jews to each other. The early twentieth century was a period of heavy Eastern European immigration to the United States. Many questioned if it were possible for Jews to assimilate into American culture, particularly into what was termed the body politic of Anglo-Saxon communities. Fishberg addresses these questions in this classic study. In trying to develop an objective standard in this study, Fishberg took anthropometric physical measurements of 3,000 New York City Jews. Ultimately, he concluded that differences between those identifying as Jews and those in the general population lay not so much in physical or anthropological characteristics as in their distinct political and social beliefs and mindsets. As these traits were changeable, especially through ever-increasing interfaith marriages, Fishberg found optimism in the possibility of ultimately obliterating all distinctions between Jews and Christians in both Europe and America. He does note this may prove deadly to Judaism, and he does not see the need for Jews to commit race suicide, as he puts it. Fishberg could not have foreseen or predicted the Holocaust during which Jews were rounded up and exterminated in large part based on being seen as a distinct and separate race with certain obvious physical characteristics, though he was prescient in foreseeing Jewish assimilation in the United States. Taken in its own context, however, Fishberg's study serves as an excellent portrayal of beliefs based upon assumed racial differences at this pre-scientific time. This classic study will be of interest to students of Jewish history and the history of demography in the United States.

An anthology of writings by Jewish thinkers on Jews as a race

Excerpt from The Jews: A Study of Race and Environment This volume is an attempt to present the results of anthropo logical, demographic, pathological, and sociological investiga tions of the Jews. Considering that one-fifth of all the Jews in the world live at present in English-speaking countries, and that the migrations of Eastern European Jews tend toivard the United States and England with its colonies, I believe I need not apologize for claiming attention to this subject. The facts presented are not available in any book, and it may safely be declared that the whole world is interested in the subject of the Jews as a race, and the getting into closer touch with the ethnic relations of the Jews. Moreover, the perennial problem, whether it is possible to assimilate the vast number of Southern and Eastern immigrants to the United States and British colonies has been applied more to the Jews than to any other white people. It has even been questioned whether there is ever a probability of incorporating the Jews into the body politic of anglo-saxon communities. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.