Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
The Wolf of Baghdad: An Iraqi Jewish Memoir
Carol Isaacs’s graphic memoir explores memory, loss, and Iraqi Jewish heritage through haunting, dreamlike graphic storytelling.
“Shir ha-Freha”: The Stereotype of the Mizrahi Woman
Ofra Haza’s 1979 hit song became iconic—and controversial—for its sexist stereotype of Mizrahi women in Israel.
If the Statue of Liberty Were a Real Person
Abandoning her pedestal, the Statue of Liberty drowns herself in sorrow about US anti-immigration policies.
Grant’s Order No. 11 and Jewish Distrust after the Civil War
In 1862, Grant expelled Jews from his military district. Two decades later, political cartoons mocked his attempt to win back Jewish support.
DeFunis v. Odegaard and Jewish Ambivalence on Affirmative Action
A decade after the Civil Rights Act, DeFunis v. Odegaard tested affirmative action—and raised Jewish anxieties over race, equality, and belonging in America.
The Fight for Chinese American Citizenship
As a Jewish civil rights lawyer, Max Kohler exposed how the Chinese Exclusion Acts violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equality under the law.
Address to the Jury on the Meaning of American Democracy
At her trial, Jewish anarchist Emma Goldman defended dissent for reflecting true democracy, declaring that America must secure freedom before exporting it.
The Myth of the American Melting Pot
Jewish philosopher Horace Kallen argued that the “melting pot” erased diversity and that true democracy required cultural pluralism, not conformity.
Jewish Immigrant Life in America: A Bavarian Peddler’s Story
A 19th-century Bavarian Jewish immigrant recounts hardship, loneliness, and disillusionment in America—revealing the struggles behind the dream of freedom.
Jews and the Naturalization Act of 1790: Who Belonged?
The Naturalization Act of 1790 defined U.S. citizenship as “free white,” exposing tensions over identity and national belonging for early American Jews.
A Jewish Woman Challenges Marriage Law in Nineteenth-Century America
A 19th-century Jewish woman exposed how marriage laws denied women property and liberty—and called for full legal and political equality.
Who Could Be a Citizen? Jews and Rights in 1784 Georgia
A 1784 Georgia pamphlet by “A Citizen” explores who qualified for legal rights, comparing Jews and other marginalized groups in the new American republic.