The Chief Rabbi's Funeral - by Scott D Seligman (Hardcover)

About the Book

Scott D. Seligman recounts the untold story of the largest antisemitic riot in American history: the horrific attack on Jewish mourners by factory workers and police on New York's Lower East Side during the 1902 funeral of Chief Rabbi Jacob Joseph.

Book Synopsis

2024 American Book Fest Award Finalist in U.S. History

On July 30, 1902, tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of New York's Lower East Side to bid farewell to the city's chief rabbi, the eminent Talmudist Jacob Joseph. All went well until the procession crossed Sheriff Street, where the six-story R. Hoe and Company printing press factory towered over the intersection. Without warning, scraps of steel, iron bolts, and scalding water rained down and injured hundreds of mourners, courtesy of antisemitic factory workers. The police compounded the attack when they arrived on the scene; under orders from the inspector in charge, who made no effort to distinguish aggressors from victims, officers began beating up Jews, injuring dozens.

To the Yiddish-language daily Forverts (Forward), the bloody attack on Jews was not unlike those that many Russian Jews remembered bitterly from the old country. But this was America, not Russia, and the Jewish community wasn't going to stand for such treatment. Fed up with being persecuted, New York's Jews, whose numbers and political influence had been growing, set a pattern for the future by deftly pursuing justice for the victims. They forced trials and disciplinary hearings, accelerated retirements and transfers within the corrupt police department, and engineered the resignation of the police commissioner. Scott D. Seligman's The Chief Rabbi's Funeral is the first book-length account of this event and its aftermath.

Review Quotes

"There is much to be learned about the plight of Jews in America and Scott D. Seligman has handed the masses a resource for further understanding. The Chief Rabbi's Funeral is a book for fans of history as well as the reader who desires for America to truly be a place of morality and love for all people."--Reader Views Book Reviews-- (12/10/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"Seligman's retelling of this largely forgotten incident of anti-Jewish violence could hardly be more timely. . . . A valuable history of violent assault finds newfound relevance."--Kirkus Reviews

"Until now no one has detailed this outbreak with such detail as Scott Seligman, in his lively discussion of the story of victims, perpetrators, observers, police, and city officials. Individuals who previously were but names noted in a newspaper or police blotter come alive."--Jeffrey S. Gurock, Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies of Yeshiva University

"A fascinating and sad account of a low moment in the history of American Jews. To his credit, the author recognizes complexity on many levels. . . . Most significantly, Scott Seligman describes the new efforts of the Jewish community to stand up for itself, a harbinger of advocacy work on behalf of the community that remains so vital to this day."--Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League

"A well-researched, well-written, and all-too-timely account of the antisemitic riot that marred the 1902 funeral of New York's chief rabbi, Jacob Joseph. Prejudice, police brutality, and widespread corruption lay at the root of the riot, Scott Seligman shows. His analysis of how Jews held government accountable for punishing the rioters and penalizing the police who abetted them carries instructive lessons for our time."--Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

"In this well-written book, based on a treasure trove of sources thus far overlooked, Scott Seligman revisits the events that took place at Chief Rabbi Jacob Joseph's funeral, uncovers numerous aspects, insights, and unknown details, and provides an intimate, sensitive, and flowing narrative of this event. . . . [A] warmly recommended read for whoever is interested in the mass immigration era, the Jewish immigrant community in New York, and the history of Jewish Orthodoxy in the United States."--Kimmy Caplan, professor of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University

About the Author

Scott D. Seligman is a writer and historian. He is the national award-winning author of numerous books, including The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City (Potomac, 2020) and Murder in Manchuria: The True Story of a Jewish Virtuoso, Russian Fascists, a French Diplomat, and a Japanese Spy in Occupied China (Potomac, 2023).