By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Before the Civil War, what were the varying beliefs held by American Jews concerning slavery? How did the fact that Jews were generally considered white affect those beliefs? Did the American Jewish population support the North or South during the war? As Richard Kreitner notes in his “Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), the answers to these questions are far more complex than one might expect because there was no one reaction that describes the thoughts, beliefs and actions of all American Jews. Kreitner explores not only these different points of view, but puts American Jewish life before, during and after the war into perspective to explain the reality of Jewish life in a country where, while Jews were not members of the lowest rung of society, their status could still be precarious. 
There were three general Jewish reactions to slavery. One said that, since slavery is mentioned in the Bible, God does not condemn the owning of slaves. Therefore, even though Southern slave owners ignored the biblical rules about slavery (for example, not returning runaway slaves to their masters), slaves could still be bought, sold and owned. In fact, there were Jewish slave owners and Jews who fought on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Many of these Jews also appreciated being considered white, which gave them a higher status than the free and slave Black populations. There were those who strongly opposed slavery based on a fundamental principle of Judaism – the Exodus from Egypt –– and that therefore they should not oppress others. Many of them became strict abolitionists who were willing to risk their lives for the cause. A third position was taken by those who had escaped oppression in Europe and worried about what could happen in the U.S. if they took the wrong political stance. They wanted Jews to sit out the debate and not publicly take sides. Kreitner notes that one editorial offering this position was called “Silence, Our Policy.” Its author thought that “silence seemed the best way to protect American Jews from both external hostility and internal schism.” 
“Fear No Pharaoh” tells its story by looking at the lives of six different Jews: 
Judah Philip Benjamin, who was a slave owner and a member of the Confederate States Cabinet.
August Bondi, who came to the U.S. after taking part in a failed revolution in Austria and who was active in the anti-slavery movement, particularly the Free States movement that sought to prevent slavery being allowed in Kansas.
Ernestine Rose, a controversial figure for her outspoken support of abolitionism, feminism and atheism. 
Rabbi Morris Raphall, who believed slavery was biblically justified.
Rabbi David Einhorn, who condemned slavery, even when it placed his life and livelihood in danger.
Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, who felt Jews should not take part in the battle over slavery.
While the stories of these individuals are interesting, “Fear No Pharaoh” is at its best when it focuses on the reality of Jewish life in the U.S. during that time period. Kreitner does an excellent job placing Jewish hopes and fears into perspective. For example, he writes that “while Jews did not contribute much to American slavery, American slavery contributed greatly to the success of early American Jews. Slavery and the bigotry that supported it deflected much of the hostility that Jews faced in the Old War.” The author also notes that, while there was prejudice against immigrants during this time, the greatest prejudice was against Irish immigrants. However, Jews were not always completely accepted and, in the South, what acceptance there was was based on Jews not upsetting the status quo – meaning keeping quiet about slavery. 
Kreitner sees the Civil War as a pivotal moment for the American Jewish community. The Jewish population – which numbered around 150,000 – were involved in many aspects of the war. Some took part in the fighting, with Kreitner estimating that around 6,000 Jews fought for the Union, while around 3,000 fought for the Confederacy. Jews also served as medics, spies, cotton traders and financiers funding the fighting. Jews helped relief organizations, donating a variety of supplies – everything from food to clothing and bandages. Kreitner notes that “the Civil War has been described as an Americanizing experience for Jews. Those who served in the armies lived for the first time in close quarters with other Americans, and by fighting for their chosen country or even dying for it, demonstrated that it was their country, too.” The fact Jews were willing to fight showed that religion was of little importance when it came to being a citizen of the U.S. or the Confederacy: risking your life for the cause made you equal.
However, Kreitner also shows that the reaction to those Jewish actions was not always as positive as those Jews might have wished: “The Civil War brought an unprecedented explosion of antisemitism on both sides of the conflict. As many had feared, the hostility long targeted against the Irish was now turned, amid the carnage and uncertainties of war, against the Jews.” This is true of both sides of the conflict. Jewish bankers and businessmen were condemned for unfairly benefitting from the war. Jewish merchants were also condemned for providing inadequate clothing for the soldiers. Also, there was a rising Protestant movement in the U.S. that believed a mistake had been made when allowing Jews to be full citizens of the country. The move to make the U.S. a Christian country scared many Jews, especially those who had recently come to the country from Europe and knew that type of oppression first hand. These problems did not quickly go away: Kreitner notes that “the themes of the 1860s propaganda – that Jews were disloyal scavengers, only interested in devising new ways of plundering and profiteering off the sacrifices of hardworking native-born Americans – reappeared and made life increasingly unpleasant for Jews who had lived through the war and for the many more who would arrive in America in the decades to come.”
Kreitner does show how, although many northern Jews originally supported the war, some came to regret that support. Recently arrived immigrants often had no idea why the conflict was being fought and so were not eager to risk their lives for a battle they felt had nothing to do with them. Others were not overjoyed to fight for a country they felt didn’t treat them as equal citizens. Those who were more settled were reluctant to leave what financial security they had recently achieved to risk their lives. There were abolitionists who fought for Jewish reasons, but many religious and community leaders were just as happy to sit out the fight. To put this into perspective, the author notes that no one knew how the war would end and how either result would affect the Jewish population. He suggests that “if the Union lost, as at moments seemed likelier than not, the prejudice against Jews in the North night have exploded into actual violence, mob-driven terror like that of the Draft Riots of 1863, but directed at Jews instead of (or in addition to) Black Americans. It might have become unsafe for Jews to live in a defeated and demoralized Union tearing itself apart over who was to blame, while their cousins in the South, counted among the more priviledged class of whites, could well have enjoyed a more comfortable and prosperous existence as citizens of the Confederate States of America than any other Jews in the world.”
While, if the Confederates won the war, life might have been easier for the Jewish population, Kreitner shows that the reality after the loss was different. Jewish life became more of challenge because, after the war, the Jews were grouped with the Black population as outsiders. Some even denigrated Jews more than free Blacks. Jews were now clearly on the wrong side of the color line. This was not helped when Jews – for example, store owners – treated the newly freed slaves as equals, allowing them to shop in the same stores as whites. Those who rented out land to Black sharecroppers were also disliked. Both groups were threatened with violence and death. As Kreitner notes, “Within the first few decades after the Civil War, the South went from being the part of the country most friendly to Jews, to the least, a place where Jews, as many had long feared, took their place alongside semifree Black people as hated outsiders in the white Southerners’ midst, as enemy within. For some, they were even worse.” The work ends by looking at how the actions that took place during the aftermath of the war have reverberated through the 21st century and still affect American, Jewish and Black relationships.
“Fear No Pharaoh”is a remarkable achievement. The depth of research Kreitner offers is impressive and his prose is easy to read. Anyone interested in American Jewish history should read his book, as should anyone interested in American politics because the political battles of those days still inform the disagreements between northern and southern states.