The Jews of Harlem: The Rise, Decline, and Revival of a Jewish Community

Jeffrey S Gurock

Feb 2016 · NYU Press

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“This well-written volume makes clear that the Harlem Jewish community significantly influenced American Jewry as a whole . . . a must-read” (Publishers Weekly).

During World War I, Harlem was home to the second largest Jewish community in America. But in the 1920s Jewish residents began to scatter to other parts of Manhattan, to the outer boroughs, and to other cities. Now nearly a century later, Jews are returning uptown to a gentrified Harlem. The Jews of Harlem follows Jews into, out of, and back into this renowned metropolitan neighborhood over the course of a century and a half. 

Jeffrey S. Gurock analyzes the complex forces that brought generations of central European, East European, and Sephardic Jews to settle there. He explains the dynamics that led Jews to exit Harlem and highlights the enduring Jewish presence that remained. He then looks at the beginnings of Jewish return as part of the transformation of New York City in our present era. 

The Jews of Harlem contributes much to our understanding of Jewish and African American history in the metropolis as it highlights the ever-changing story of America’s largest city. Its contemporary story merits telling even as the memories of what Jewish Harlem once was warrants recall.

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Jeffrey S. Gurock is the Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University. He has written or edited 25 books, including Jews in Gotham, which in 2012 was honored as Winner, Everett Family Foundation Award, Jewish Book of the Year, Jewish Book Council.