ABSTRACT
Antisemitism has plagued Jews in the United States since colonial times, but until about forty years ago American Jewish organizations had been rather timid in protesting it. The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, both started before World War I, were not sitting on their hands for forty years; but it was not until after the formation of the American Jewish Conference in 1943 that American Jewish organizations made really concerted efforts to reverse the growing antisemitic trend in the United States. The worst period of American antisemitism occurred between the ends of the two world wars. One of the major concerns of all the Jewish organizations was how to combat the growth of American antisemitic activities and beliefs. Jews and their organizations have also honed their political skills in an effort to obtain desired goals and to prevent any legislative or administrative encouragement of antisemitism.
