There are academic anti-Zionists far more poisonous than Shaul Magid, and this newsletter will continue to cover their activities. But it’s also worth considering how often universities have been a welcoming place to American Jewry, something Michelle Margolis considers in her investigation into the history of Jews at Columbia:
The [school’s] 1784 charter had an interesting requirement, that there should be regents from among the clergy representing all “respective religious denominations in this State.” Chosen to represent the Jewish religion was Gershom Mendes Seixas of Shearith Israel Congregation, the oldest Jewish congregation in New York. Seixas remained on as a trustee when Columbia received its own board of trustees in 1787, and would continue serving as a trustee until he resigned in 1814 due to “infirmities.”
Jonathan Nathan received his A.B. in 1826 and his Master in Chancery (a kind of law degree) from 1840–1845. He maintained a close relationship with his college classmate, Hamilton Fish, Sr., [later the governor of New York], and the library has a collection of letters written from 1843–1857 to his school friend. One particularly interesting letter in the collection addresses his Jewish practice: “I am anxious to come up now as our Passover commences on Wednesday when our system of dietetics will keep me home for a week.”
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