Pamela Nadell is a professor of Jewish history at American University, director of its Jewish Studies Program, and a recipient of the university’s highest award, “Scholar/Teacher of the Year.” As a Jewish studies scholar, she has taught courses on ancient and medieval Jewish civilization, modern Jewish civilization, American Jewish history, Jewish women’s history, modern Jewish literature, Holocaust history, and antisemitism. She brings her deep knowledge of Jewish history, culture, and education to her consulting and public speaking work.
October 19, 2025. The New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins Pamela Nadell at The Tree of Life for the Pittsburgh book launch of Antisemitism, an American Tradition =. Tracing the long history of antisemitism in American history, Nadell shows the roots of the hatred that shattered Pittsburgh’s Jewish community and their neighbors.
Pamela Nadell is excited to share that her forthcoming book, Antisemitism, an American Tradition, will be published on October 14, 2025. This timely exploration of the deep-rooted history of antisemitism in America sheds light on its enduring presence and contemporary resurgence. Stay tuned—book tour dates will be announced soon!
Times of Israel published an interview with Pamela Nadell exploring the current rise in antisemitism in the United States, its historical parallels, and its impact on Jewish life today. The interview highlights both the challenges and historical context of antisemitism, while noting how Jewish communities continue to respond.
Join award-winning historian, American University Professor Pamela Nadell in conversation with Franklin Foer, author of The Atlantic’s “The Golden Age of American Jewry is Ending” to to discuss her new timely new book Antisemitsm, an American Tradition. Nadell explores the deep roots of antisemitism in the US from colonial times to the present and the powerful ways American Jews have resisted this hatred and bigotry.
Pamela S. Nadell will be a guest speaker at the Everett Jewish Life Center at the Chautauqua Institution from August 3–7, 2025, where she will discuss her acclaimed book America’s Jewish Women and her forthcoming work Antisemitism, an American Tradition. The program will explore the contributions of Jewish women to American history and examine the persistence of antisemitism in American society.
In Inside the powerful task force spearheading Trump’s assault on colleges, DEI, The Washington Post quotes Pamela Nadell. The story reported how the federal government’s Antisemitism Task Force was overreaching its aim of rooting out antisemitism on college campuses to advance a long-standing conservative demand to reform higher education. Nadell said: “Ultimately, I am deeply worried that under the pretext of ending hatred of Jewish people — an historic, worldwide problem — the antisemitism task force’s demands to dismantle DEI as the root of antisemitism will further isolate Jews in American colleges and univerities. Jews will be blamed for its abolition. But antisemitism will not disappear from the campus.”
In her June 2025 Hadassah Magazine article, historian Pamela Nadell reflects on the rising tide of antisemitic violence in the U.S., from the murder of two young professionals outside Washington, D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum to attacks on Jewish homes and demonstrators. These alarming incidents, she asks, may signal a turning point for American Jews.
On June 5, 2025, Pamela S. Nadell will participate in the “On the Front Lines: French-American Forum on Antisemitism” in Paris, sponsored by AJC and CRIF. She will lead a session titled “Two Different Societies, Two Different Approaches? Recognizing and Understanding Antisemitism on the Left and on the Right.”
As part of the symposium The End of an Era? Jews and Elite Universities on May 18th at the Center for Jewish History, historian Pamela S. Nadell will lead a key session, “Columbia and Harvard: The Exception or the Rule?” Drawing on her expertise in American Jewish history, Nadell will explore how these institutions have shaped Jewish academic life and whether today’s crises reflect new challenges or enduring patterns.