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Old Stock Jews, also referred to asOld Immigrant Jews, areJews who have been present in theUnited States for multiple generations.[1][2]
Unlike the term "Old Stock American", which denoteswhite Americans with roots stretching back to thecolonial era, old stock Jews are a specific sub-group ofAmerican Jewry who arrived any time before the mass immigration ofEastern European Jews in the late 19th century and later. The vast majority of these Jews wereWestern Sephardim andAshkenazim arriving fromHolland,England,Germany, or otherEuropean colonies in the Americas.[3][4][5]
Some of these early Jewish immigrants, specifically those from Germany, promoted a higher degree ofassimilation intoAmerican culture, in contrast with later waves of Jewish immigrants.[6][7][8] Groups like theanti-ZionistAmerican Council for Judaism were led primarily by wealthy, assimilated German-Jews who claimed Jews were not a nation, but solely a religion.[9] However, many old stock Jews vehemently opposed assimilation and theReform movement, such as RabbiIsaac Leeser[10] and RabbiSabato Morais.[11]
