When most people think of Jewish origins in the United States, the average person might think that they originated in the North, specifically in New York. Though there has been decades of vibrant Jewish life, culture, and tradition in the Northeast, the earliest Jewish roots date back to the 17th century originating in southern states like Georgia and South Carolina. Another myth is that European Jews first developed the Jewish life in the newly-conquested America. However, this is very false. Initial Jewish life in America was sparked by Sephardic Jews originating in Spain and Portugal. Specifically these countries, because Jews had a long history of persecution in such powerful countries that frequently engaged in colonization of the New World. In another Jewish Studies class I took at Emory University, we focused on Jewish anthropology and how the Jews in history through an anthropologic lens. A project I composed discussed Jewish Pirates and their reasoning for engaging in piracy overseas. One reason was to gain economic and religion freedom from restrictive countries. Similar to Jewish Pirates, Southern Jews settled in cities like Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC to seek refuge from religious persecution from other countries and to gain economic prosperity. However from this reading, I learned that this didn't come easy to these Jews and their authority in these areas. Jews still had to practice prayer and dietary laws behind close doors and were restricted to the public. I found this extremely interesting and found the dynamic between Jews and gentiles in the south peculiar. I would like to further explore this dynamic and would like to see how it developed over time. I hope to cover such material in a Southern Jewish Literature course being taken this spring at Emory University in the "Heart of the South," Atlanta, Ga.
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Author: Ethan L. ArbiserShalom y'all, ArchivesCategories |