Can Americans Be Patriots and Zionists? The Louis Brandeis Story | Great Jewish Heroes | Unpacked

The first Jewish U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis, was born in 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky to Jewish German immigrants. Brandeis grew up assimilated into American life and knew more about his German roots than his Jewish ones.

Graduating first in his class from Harvard Law at the age of 20, Brandeis worked as a lawyer and was a leading reformer, fighting against poverty and injustice and defending equality and workers’ rights.

While defending Jewish workers, Brandeis connected with his own Jewish heritage. Upon learning about Theodor Herzl’s call for a Jewish state in response to antisemitism and assimilation, Brandeis began to rally Jewish Americans around Zionism and support for Israel.

Though asked to lead the American Zionist Movement, Brandeis instead chose to be an advocate for Zionism and American Jews by becoming a supreme court justice and remained a vocal supporter of Jewish dual loyalty.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:39 Downplaying Jewish identity in America
01:36 Brandeis saw no contradiction
01:58 Brandeis' youth
01:25 Progressivism
02:48 Reformer
03:34 Theodor Herzl
04:06 Resonance with the Zionist Movement
04:41 Proud American and vocal proponent for the Jewish state
05:11 Woodrow Wilson's rejection of Jewish nationalism
05:53 The outbreak of WW1
06:11 The Federation of American Zionists
07:26 Brandeis and the American Zionist Movement
08:54 Jewish pride and American pride
10:08 Outro

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Executive Producers:
Michael Maling
Adam Milstein
Barry Skolnick

Co-Executive Producers
Russell Greenberg
Gloria Kaylie
Andy Lappin

Gold Level:
Koum Family Foundation
Robyn & Russell Greenberg
Harvey & Gloria Kaylie Foundation
Crain-Maling Foundation
Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation
Skolnick Family Charitable Trust

Bronze Level:
Susan & Marc Sacks
Meryl & Sam Solomon

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Image and footage credits:
Center for Jewish Life/American Jewish Historical Society/Hadassah Archives
Central Zionist Archive
Ein Hashofet Archives
Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department at Brandeis University/Louis D. Brandeis: An Inspiring Life
Florida State Archives
Harvard Historical and Special Collections
Israel Government Press Office
Franz Jantzen/Supreme Court of the United States
Laura Kneedler
Library of Congress
David Matlow Herzl Collection
Spielberg Archive
StoryBlocks
Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
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About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.

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