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YI Sharon Book Club

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 10 Iyyar 5778

8:00 PM - 9:30 PM110 Ames Street, Sharon, MA 02067

We will be discussing When General Grant Expelled the Jews by Jonathan Sarna. On December 17, 1862, just weeks before Abraham Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, General Grant issued what remains the most notorious anti-Jewish order by a government official in American history. His attempt to eliminate black marketeers by targeting for expulsion all Jews "as a class" from portions of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi unleashed a firestorm of controversy that made newspaper headlines and terrified and enraged the approximately 150,000 Jews then living in the United States, who feared the importation of European anti-Semitism onto American soil. Although the order was quickly rescinded by a horrified Abraham Lincoln, the scandal came back to haunt Grant when he ran for president in 1868. Never before had Jews become an issue in a presidential contest and never before had they been confronted so publicly with the question of how to balance their "American" and "Jewish" interests. Award-winning historian Jonathan D. Sarna gives us the first complete account of this little-known episode—including Grant's subsequent apology, his groundbreaking appointment of Jews to prominent positions in his administration, and his unprecedented visit to the land of Israel. Sarna sheds new light on one of our most enigmatic presidents, on the Jews of his day, and on the ongoing debate between ethnic loyalty and national loyalty that continues to roil American political and social discourse. (from Amazon.com) All book club books may be purchased from Amazon through the link on the YI website, which will provide Young Israel with 10 percent of the purchase price. We also try to ensure that there are sufficient copies available through the Sharon Public Library system. New members are always welcome. Hope to see you there!

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