About Me
Pamela Nadell, professor and Patrick Clendenen Chair in women’s and Gender History at American University, is a historian specializing in American Jewish history antisemitism. She authored America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today, winner of the 2019 National Jewish Book Award’s “Jewish Book of the Year.” Her new book Antisemitism, An American Tradition will be published on October 14, 2025 (W.W. Norton) and was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award.
Nadell also wrote Women Who Would be Rabbis, which was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies, and has consulted for museums, including Philadelphia’s Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Pittsburgh’s rebuild of the Tree of Life Congregation, and Tel Aviv’s ANU: The Museum of the Jewish People. A past president of the Association for Jewish Studies, she lectures widely and teaches courses on antisemitism, the Holocaust, and American Jewish History. She has testified before Congress three times and was the fourth witness in the congressional hearing with the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and University of Pennsylvania.
Contact Me
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Pages
- Antisemitism Book
- Books
- Antisemitism, an American Tradition
- America’s Jewish Women
- American Jewish Women’s History
- Conservative Judaism in America
- Making Women’s Histories
- New Essays in American Jewish History
- Women and American Judaism
- Women Who Would be Rabbis
- Three Hundred Fifty Years: An Album of American Jewish Memory
- Events
- Other Writings
- Media
- About Me
- Contact Me
Topics
Events
- June 5, 2025 “2 Different Societies, 2 Different Approaches” at the French-American Forum on Antisemitism, Paris, France
- August 3-7, 2025 “America’s Jewish Women” and “Antisemitism, an American Tradition” Guest Speaker at the Everett Jewish Life Center, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY
- September 29, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Pre-Publication Book Launch with The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer, Center for Jewish History, New York City
- October 2, 2025 A Yom Kippur Conversation about Antisemitism, an American Tradition at Temple Sinai, Washington, DC
- October 14, 2025 Date of Publication of Antisemitism, an American Tradition – Book Tour to be Announced Soon!
- October 14, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Launch with Senator Ben Cardin at Politics and Prose, Washington, DC
- October 16, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Launch at Barnes & Noble, Philadelphia, PA
- October 19, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Launch at The Tree of Life, Pittsburgh, PA
- October 20, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Launch, University of Connecticut/Mandell Jewish Community Center, West Hartford, CT
- October 23, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Virtual Book Launch, American Jewish Committee
- October 29, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Virtual Book Launch, Lappin Foundation, Beverly, MA
- October 30, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Launch, Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA
- November 2, 2025 The Past, Present, and Future of Jewish History, Center for Jewish History, New York City
- November 3, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Event, New York University, New York City
- November 9, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Talk, Mah Tovu Congregation, Chicago, IL
- November 10, 2025 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Event, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Past Events
- May 18, 2025 “Columbia and Harvard” Jews and Elite Universities Symposium at Center for Jewish History, New York City
- May 18, 2025 “Understanding Contemporary Antisemitism” Hosted by Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL – Zoom Conference
- May 4, 2025 “Celebrating Professor Jonathan Sarna’s Scholarship” at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
- April 8, 2025 “Through Women’s Eyes: Antisemitism in America” Hosted by Women’s League for Conservative Judaism – Zoom Conference
- March 30, 2025 “Antisemitism, an American Tradition” Keynote, Contemporary Antisemitism Conference in London, England
News
- Senate Education Panel Hearing to Address ‘Antisemitic Disruptions on Campus’
- Scholars Have Told Important Jewish Stories with the NEH’s Support. What Happens to Them Now?
- Guthrie’s three-act ‘Lehman Trilogy’ charts one immigrant family’s epic rise and catastrophic fall
- Antisemitism Seeing Global Rise
- Pamela Nadell’s History: Professor, Author, Researcher
- Q&A: Antisemitism in America
- How Republicans Echo Antisemitic Tropes Despite Declaring Support for Israel
- Hollywood is Failing Jewish-Americans Despite a History Together – Opinion
- The 4th to Testify: Congressional witness Pamela Nadell on the US Antisemitism Crisis
- New Study Highlights Campus Antisemitism ‘Hot Spots’
- What Jewish College Students Have to Say About the Campus Climate
- A Brief History of Antisemitism in U.S. Higher Education
- The Gaza Crisis is Stoking Antisemitism in the U.S.
- Antisemitism on Elon Musk’s X is Surging and Dredging Up Many Ancient, Defamatory Themes of Blaming Jews
October 22, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Boston College, Boston, MA
/in EventsOctober 22, 2026. Boston College, Boston, MA. Comparing Antisemitism in the United States and Europe: A Conversation. Antisemitism has been rising globally. But is it the same everywhere? Do different contexts create meaningful differences? Leading experts on Jewish history, Professors Pamela Nadell (American University) and Flora Cassen (Brandeis University) will explore in conversation with each other how the realities of antisemitism in America and Europe, past and present, compare, highlighting the consequences arising from these different contexts. This event will be moderated by Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski and Ruth Langer of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College.
October 29, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Event, Brandeis Educators Institute at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia
/in EventsOctober 29, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition Book Event, Brandeis Educators Institute at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia. Jews met antisemitism on landing in New Amsterdam in 1654 when Peter Stuyvesant tried to expel them. The founding of the US changed little, as negative European stereotypes rooted into American soil. They faced restrictions on holding office, admission to schools, and employment in industry, while their synagogues and cemeteries were vandalized. Recently, white nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virgina, and a gunman killed eleven members at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue building. Antisemitic incidents have increased each year.
Antisemitism, an American Tradition explores the depth of this fraught history. The book reveals how Jews battled antisemitism through the law and by creating organizations to speak for them. Jews would also fight back with their fists or join with allies in fighting all types of hate. This momentous work sounds the alarm on a hatred that continues to plague our country.
November 1-3, 2026 International Conference of Jewish Judges and Lawyers, Jerusalem
/in EventsNovember 1-3, 2026 International Conference of Jewish Judges and Lawyers, Jerusalem. Jews met antisemitism on landing in New Amsterdam in 1654 when Peter Stuyvesant tried to expel them. The founding of the US changed little, as negative European stereotypes rooted into American soil. They faced restrictions on holding office, admission to schools, and employment in industry, while their synagogues and cemeteries were vandalized. Recently, white nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virgina, and a gunman killed eleven members at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue building. Antisemitic incidents have increased each year.
November 15, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Virtual Book Talk, Greater Washington Coalition for Jewish life, Litchfield County, CT
/in EventsNovember 15, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Virtual Book Talk, Greater Washington Coalition for Jewish life, Litchfield County, CT
November 15-16, 2026 Working Towards a Shared Society: Jews and Palestinians in Israel, Conference at American University
/in EventsNovember 15-16, 2026 Working Towards a Shared Society: Jews and Palestinians in Israel, Conference at American University. Jews met antisemitism on landing in New Amsterdam in 1654 when Peter Stuyvesant tried to expel them. The founding of the US changed little, as negative European stereotypes rooted into American soil. They faced restrictions on holding office, admission to schools, and employment in industry, while their synagogues and cemeteries were vandalized. Recently, white nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virgina, and a gunman killed eleven members at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue building. Antisemitic incidents have increased each year.
December 2, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Book Talk, Congregation B’nai Israel, Rockville, MD
/in EventsDecember 2, 2026 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Book Talk, Congregation B’nai Israel, Rockville, MD. Jews met antisemitism on landing in New Amsterdam in 1654 when Peter Stuyvesant tried to expel them. The founding of the US changed little, as negative European stereotypes rooted into American soil. They faced restrictions on holding office, admission to schools, and employment in industry, while their synagogues and cemeteries were vandalized. Recently, white nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virgina, and a gunman killed eleven members at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue building. Antisemitic incidents have increased each year.
December 21, 2026 Panelist, “Publishing with Trade Presses,” Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies, Philadelphia, PA
/in EventsJoin award-winning historian Pamela S. Nadell as she joins fellow scholars for “Publishing with Trade Presses,” a panel discussion at the Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies in Philadelphia, PA. Time to be determined; more details to follow once the full program is published.
January 14, 2027 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, The American Jewish Experience Lecture Series, Shalom Austin, Austin, TX
/in EventsJanuary 20, 2027 Interview with Dr. Andrew Sperling about The Menace Among Us: The Jewish Fight Against Antisemitism, from the Ku Klux Klan to White Power, American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY
/in EventsJanuary 20, 2027 Interview with Dr. Andrew Sperling about The Menace Among Us: The Jewish Fight Against Antisemitism, from the Ku Klux Klan to White Power, American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY
January 24, 2027 Antisemitism, an American Tradition, Book Talk, Temple Isaiah in Fulton, Maryland
/in Events