TJS S5E21 American Jewry circa 1984

As we circle in toward the end of season five, it is time to check back in with American Jewry. The 1980s were a time of economic and social security for the Jews of the US, and the overall growth of their religious communities was boosted by a surprise source – the kollel. It was a decade in which the assumption that Jews vote Democrat was first really challenged, and in which the early rumblings of antisemitism in the public sphere could be felt once more.