At a time when anti-Semitism was the norm, Abraham Lincoln not only treated Jews with respect but counted many of them as close friends.
Abraham Lincoln and the Jews don’t exactly go together in the popular imagination like bagels and lox. While Lincoln has been championed as a Moses leading African Americans out of slavery, the 16th president’s ties to the Tribe have not been well examined or even clearly acknowledged.
The fact that some aspect of Lincoln’s life has gone unstudied is striking. Lincoln is the closest we have to a U.S.-sanctioned saint in a country with a constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. It’s safe to say that no other politician has won American adoration or scholarship the way Lincoln has.
