Historian Pamela Nadell delivered a sweeping fascinating talk for the Canadian Institute for the Study of Antisemitism ‘s 2016 Shindleman Lecture on June 17, 2026 demonstrating the deep roots of antisemitism in American society, from the colonial period until today, Although some Jews in American were surprised by the increase in antisemitism in the United States following the Oct 7, Hamas attacks, Nadell’s book Antisemitism, an American Tradition, published in 2025 points out that animus toward Jews in the United States has a long, dark history that started as soon as some of the first Jews landed in the New World, back in the 17th century.
In her lecture, Nadell indicated she decided to write her book since there had been no scholarly book on antisemitism in America that had been written since the 1990’s.
Nadell spoke about Peter Stuyvesant, then the leader of New Amsterdam (which is now part of Manhattan), called for the ouster of 23 Jews, who wrote in a letter were members of a “deceitful race.” Although his intolerance extended to other religious groups, his anti-Jewish animus was particularly pronounced. Nadell, a professor at American University in Washington D.C. and the director of the Jewish Studies program, indicates in her book that his animus traces back to the Old World: “Colonists not only carried rucksacks to America. They carried ideas about Jewish enmity and degeneracy that lay at the heart of Western civilization.”
Although Stuyvesant’s expulsion effort was unsuccessful, his actions show how deep the “tradition” of American antisemitism is. Nudell’s award-winning scholarly book outlines how this tradition existed through the centuries, from colonial times to today. The book documents the tradition of antisemitism using sources such as government records, secular and Jewish newspapers and personal diaries. In her talk Nadell indicated that the term “antisemitism” was coined in 1879 by the anti-Jewish German writer Wilhelm Mar.
In many states during the preceding centuries before waves of Jewish immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, taking a Christian oath was a prerequisite to holding office. Further during the American Civil War, Jews were suspected of being smugglers in trades that benefited the Confederacy.
Nadell in her book which won the National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies refers to the “Shylock trope” , which considers Jews to be outsiders who use their money and means to undermine society. This belief is rooted in the history of Jews as moneylenders during the Middle Ages.
Through her lecture Dr. Nadell explored how widespread anti-Jewish propaganda was normalized in American life between World War I and World War II. This was amplified by the economic stress of the Great Depression. As she wrote, “Moments of crisis embolden antisemitism.”
Nudell explained that antisemitism was spread at an alarming rate in popular culture through the car maker Henry Ford. She noted that in the 1920’s anyone who came into buy a car from a Ford dealership, even if they did not buy one, could pick up a copy of Ford’s newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, to serialize articles later published as a four-volume antisemitic set titled “The International Jew.” Ford also funded early printings of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a Russian forgery which contain conspiracy theories of alleged global Jewish power and intent to dominate the world, first published in 1903. used
As Nudell noted, Ford’s writings were so influential internationally that they were translated into German and influenced Nazi ideology. Adolf Hitler, who was inspired by Ford, kept a portrait of Ford on his desk and praised the industrialist in Mein Kampf. Antisemitism was also spread in this period through the radio sermons of Father Charles Coughlin, a Canadian born Roman Catholic priest who lived in Michigan. Anti-Jewish animus also occurred at an institutional level, where top universities such as Harvard limiting Jewish enrolment.
In the early years following World War II, however, antisemitism in the United States waned according to Nadell, due in part to reaction to the Holocaust, the Vatican II’s 1965 release of a document absolving Jews of Jesus’ death and legislative responses to discriminatory practices such as the Fair Housing Act.
And yet American Jews were excluded from hotels and country clubs. In 1957, a quarter of American resorts were still restricted. In her Nadell quotes historian Deborah Lipstadt, who recalls that even at the age of 13 in the early 1960s, she “knew not to consider certain colleges.”
In her lecture, Nadell explained how Soviet anti-Zionism was not legitimate political criticism but in fact a Cold War propaganda tactic used by the USSR to disguise and mask its antisemitism In the USSR Zionism arose as a response to the devastating anti-Jewish pogroms and riots directed by the Russian Empire. Soviet leaders like Vladimir Lenin wrote aggressively against Zionists as early as 1903.
On the subject of Israel, Nadell critiques what she calls the “Israel alibi,” which is the false premise that contemporary antisemitism in places like Europe or the Arab world is a mere byproduct or reaction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She maintains that anti-Jewish sentiment is centuries old and built on deep-seated conspiracy theories. Geopolitical events do not create this hatred; rather, they serve as an excuse to unleash pre-existing bigotry. Nadell emphasizes that when violence erupts in the Middle East, the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is frequently erased by activists. This leads directly to the targeting of diaspora Jewish individuals, synagogues, and institutions who have no bearing on Israeli policy.
As an expert who testified before Congress regarding campus antisemitism, Nadell argues that while physical campus encampments eventually declined, they created environments where Jewish students and faculty were actively ostracized.
