The Jews Behind the Founding of America

Did the Jewish people help shape 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 Chapters: 0:00 Intro 00:42 The First Jews in America 08:06 Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? 10:40 America's Biblical Blueprint 18:41 Jews and the Founding of America 22:50 The Three Periods of Jewish Immigration 29:50 The Jewish Success Story 35:02 Jewish Contributions to the American 36:28 What Makes America Different --- Subscribe to our channel for more of the best Jewish video content on YouTube. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) has the largest collection of Jewish media content. Our exclusive videos range from Torah insights to the most hotly debated contemporary topics. Follow us on: Facebook: https://facebook.com/myJLI Instagram: https://instagram.com/myjli/ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@jewishlearninginstitute Twitter: https://twitter.com/myJLI See our full video library here: https://www.torahcafe.com/ Visit our website here: https://www.myjli.com/ ABOUT JLI Serving learning centers in over 1,800 communities and on the internet, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is the world's preeminent provider of Jewish learning. The mission of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute is to inspire Jewish learning worldwide and to transform Jewish life and the greater community through Torah study. To make Jewish learning accessible and personally meaningful to every Jew, regardless of background or affiliation. JLI's insightful curriculum utilizes cutting-edge pedagogical techniques, embracing the multiple intelligence model and utilizing multimedia and an array of approaches to engage, educate, and inspire all kinds of minds in a dynamic Jewish learning experience.