Jewish-American Intermarriage

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the United States of America has become a symbol of freedom to the rest of the world and how people from nations everywhere come to the country in pursuit of the "American Dream." It discusses how, once a major target of anti-Semitism, American Jews have truly established themselves in this nation and have even earned the respect and acceptance of many. In particular, it looks at how this assimilation of Jews into American society has caused a substantial increase in intermarriage, but ironically, increasing the possibility of destroying what is left of Jewish identity and unity.

From the Paper:

"As Jewish immigrants moved to the United States, they quickly adapted to an American way of life while still sustaining a strong commitment to their Jewish culture. "Most new arrivals were committed to retaining their distinctiveness and their sense of Jewish peoplehood" (Feagin 123). However, second-generation Jews became more influenced by pressures of assimilation; they did not have as strong of a tie to Judaism as their parents had because they were born in America. The media and the public schools made it easy for them to pick up the English language and American values, and they quickly became the rope in a tug of war between their parents and a dominating American culture (Feagin 123). Many second-generation Jewish women were pressured by society to reject their mothers' image of "poverty and strong-woman reality" and instead assume the more lady-like, devoted-housewife qualities of that time (Feagin 124)."

More papers on Jewish-American Intermarriage:

• Term Paper # 58587 : "Jewish-American Immigration"
• Essay # 40051 : "American Jews"
• Research Paper # 28897 : "Judaism and Assimilation"

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