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Opening Doors
April 22 | 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT
The Unlikely Alliance Between the Irish and the Jews in America, a conversation with Hasia Diner
Join us for a scholarly discussion examining Hasia R. Diner’s “Opening Doors: The Unlikely Alliance Between the Irish and the Jews in America” (2024).
Hasia Diner (Professor Emerita of American Jewish History), Kevin Kenny (Glucksman Professor of History), Lila Corwin Berman (Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History), and Sandra Fox (Robert S. Rifkind Chair in American Jewish History)will interrogate Diner’s central thesis that challenges prevailing narratives of ethnic hostility. Through careful historical analysis, Diner documents how Irish and Jewish immigrants formed strategic alliances rather than adversarial relationships at the turn of the twentieth century.
Irish immigrants established crucial footholds in urban governance, education, and labor organizations—institutional positions that later provided Jewish newcomers with pathways to civic engagement. This historical examination of inter-community solidarity offers valuable perspective on responses to marginalization, particularly relevant in today’s discussions of immigration and national identity.