Antisemitism, an American Tradition with Pamela Nadell 

In Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Pamela S. Nadell recounts the 400-year history of hostility toward Jews in America. From colonial-era expulsion efforts to modern-day violence in Pittsburgh and Charlottesville, Nadell uncovers how antisemitism has shaped the American Jewish experience. Named a Wall Street Journal “Best Reviewed Book” (October 2025), this urgent work explores both the deep roots of this hatred and the resilient ways Jews have fought back through law, alliances, and activism.  

Professor Pamela S. Nadel holds the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History at American University. Her new book Antisemitism, an American Tradition won this year’s National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies. Her book America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today won the 2019 National Jewish Book Award’s Everett Family Foundation “Book of the Year.” A past president of the Association for Jewish Studies, she is a consultant to Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Museum.  

Co-sponsors: College of Arts and Letters, James Madison College, College of Social Science, International Studies and Programs. and the Department of History