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.