JLI: The Jews Behind the Founding of America

From the first Jewish refugees to arrive in New Amsterdam in 1654 to the Hebrew Bible’s profound influence on the Founding Fathers, this fascinating conversation explores the often-overlooked role Jews and Jewish values played in the birth of the United States.

In this interview, historian Dr. Henry Abramson uncovers remarkable stories about America’s earliest Jewish settlers, the Spanish Inquisition, Christopher Columbus’ possible Jewish ancestry, George Washington’s famous letter to the Jews of Newport, Alexander Hamilton’s Jewish connections, and how biblical ideas of liberty, justice, and human dignity became woven into the fabric of the American experiment.
America 250 anniversary episode