At a time when slavery tore America apart, American Jews faced a wrenching question: Should they speak out against oppression—or stay quiet to protect themselves in a hostile world?

Join us for brunch with local Beacon author Richard Kreitner as he discusses his new book Fear No Pharaoh: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery.

Kreitner brings to life six American Jews who made dramatically different choices: a rabbi who defended slavery as biblical; his rival, who gave such fiery abolitionist sermons that a mob threatened his life; a Polish immigrant who fought alongside John Brown; and a Jewish lawyer who became Jefferson Davis's most trusted advisor.

“Kreitner has produced the best book I have ever read about the Jews in nineteenth-century America.” —Benjamin Moser, New York Times Book Review