Review - American Jewish Archives

Contents
Letters to the Editor
Articles
139
Yaakov Ariel
"The Evangelist at Our Door: The American Jewish Response
to Christian Missionaries, 1880-1920. "
Yaakov Ariel argues that between 1880 and 1920, the American Jewish leadership
became increasingly preoccupied with Christian missionary activity. In particular,
the missionaries targeted new immigrants by providing social services and Amer-
icanization classes. Although these missionary societies were not unique, the
American Jewish response to missionaries was more forceful, and vocal, than at
any other time in history. American Jews saw these missionaries not only as a
threat to their community, but regarded them as a challenge to their claim of full
citizenship. The Jewish response, and the mind set of the Jewish leadership, re-
ceive detailed attention.
Yosef Salmon
"Mizrachi Movement in America:
A Belated but Sturdy Offshoot."
Within a few years of the first Zionist Congress in 1897 and the establishment of
Political Zionism, a religious Zionist organization, the Mizrachi movement, was
founded. Primarily appealing to religious Jews in Eastern Europe, the Mizrachi
movement made very slow inroads into the U.S. As in Europe, the Mizrachi move-
ment in the U.S. appealed primarily to Orthodox Jews.Yosef Salmon evaluates the
genesis and growth of the Mizrachi movement in America, paying particular at-
tention to its adaptation to the American Jewish landscape in the era before and
after World War I.