Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Back to Opinion

Why Jonathan Sarna Is My Best Source

Brandeis University

We often think of historians as dry academics walled off in their ivory towers.

But the level of concern about the health of historian Jonathan Sarna, who is hospitalized in critical condition after collapsing, shows that Sarna is something special.

Sarna, a professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, is not just a deeply knowledgeable and engaging historian. He connects with people — students, historians, laypeople and, dare I say it, journalists.

As my colleague Josh Nathan-Kazis pointed out in a conversation this afternoon: “He’s a historian who steps out of the bounds of the academy and makes himself accessible to answer questions and engages in the world. Professors who do that are rare and valuable.”

I learned firsthand of Sarna’s value during my first months at the Forward, in 2011, when I started investigating a story about George Washington’s lost 1790 letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island.

Sarna was the inspiration for that story after I heard him mention the letter’s importance — and the fact that it appeared to be lost — at a Limmud conference in Britain. Sarna was also my guide throughout the story’s reporting, directing me to source materials and to other important documents of the day.

Since then, whenever I have had occasion to delve into American Jewish history, Sarna has become the first person that I turn to for sources, citations, guidance and inspiration.

Sarna is more than a walking encyclopedia of the American Jewish experience. He is a part of what makes American Jewish history vibrant and vital.

That’s why so many people wish him well right now.

Contact Paul Berger at [email protected] or on Twitter @pdberger

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.