Tensions Between Being American And Jewish

After1870s, a lot of Polish and Russian Jews immigrated to the United States,and then the third wave of immigration was between1880and1920. The Jews foundthe freedom in the melting-pot country, and some of the Jews even made a successthrough their hardworking. But in the process of melting in the mainstream ofAmerican society, some of the Jews assimilated in it, while some of them felt lostalthough they had a better life in the United States because they lost their Jewishidentity. Therefore, although the Jews could live a better life in the more tolerantsociety, the individuals realized the loss of their Jewish identity and the communityleaders were worried about the disappearing of the Jewish community. In the early20thcentury, to this tension, the Jewish philanthropic organizations were transited alot for both the purposes and the structures of it, placing more emphasis onreinforcing the American Jewish identity and maintaining the continuity of theJewish community.In the first part of the paper, the author points out that the influence of themelting pot on the American Jewish identity and the Jewish community. Then, itemphasizes on the transitions of the purposes and structures of the Jewishphilanthropy, from mainly helping the poor Jews to supporting the establishment ofIsrael and promoting the traditional Jewish education, which is used to reinforce theAmerican Jewish identity. Last, through analyzing the missions of the contemporaryJewish philanthropic organizations, the author explains the influence of thetransitions on the these organizations, which not only fulfill the goal of strengtheningthe American Jewish identity, but the Jewish identity of the Jews all over the world.Therefore, in conclusion, the philanthropy is the most efficient way for easing thetensions of the Jewish identity and community.In all, as the first paper to analyze the transitions of the Jewish philanthropy, itreveals the importance of it to reinforce the American Jewish identity. As we know, the American government is the interest group government, so it is important for theJews to reinforce their Jewish identity and maintain their specialty of Jewishcommunity in the United States. What’s more, the Jewish philanthropy has someenlightenment to the relative backward China’s philanthropy.