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Laura Arnold Leibman

@lauraleibman.bsky.social
579 followers 126 following 1.1K posts

Jewish studies scholar and pug enthusiast. Leonard J. Milberg ’53 Professor in American Jewish Studies @Princeton University, President Association for Jewish Studies

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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Some exciting news on the job front for people early in their careers in American Jewish History. The Brandeis University Department of History has announced a full-time, tenure-track appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in American Jewish History.
academicjobsonline.org
Brandeis University, Department of History
Job #AJO32372, Assistant Professor of American Jewish History, Department of History, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, US
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I, too, like blueberries 🫐 and yogurt for lunch.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Check out this podcast I did with Adam Jortner for the forthcoming exhibit on Jews and American Democracy at American Jewish Historical Society! ajhs.org/democracy-po...
ajhs.org
The Rest of Mankind - American Jewish Historical Society
In 1654, the first Jews arrived in New Amsterdam. Sephardic refugees from Recife, Brazil, they came to the Dutch-controlled colony to escape the Spanish/Portuguese Inquisition. These 23 individuals be...
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Happy 1st day of Declaration of Independence 250 Month! Sharing this wonderful mezuzah belonging to family of Revolutionary war spy and financier Haym Salomon featured in the “Circa 1776” now open at the The Jewish Museum in NYC along with several other family artifacts. Photos by Laura Leibman
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
There was a LOT of outrage at the ministry of toast when high fiber cereal 🥣 with soy milk and blueberries 🫐 was served for breakfast instead of the beloved toast yesterday. I thought it was tasty, but apparently I was wrong. So, today we are back to our usual programming.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Want to learn more about the Jews of Colón, Panama? Check out this presentaton by Dr. Daniel Abouganem at the Latin American Jewish Studies Association conference in 2023. There is also a lovely review of the book here that has some wonderful historical photos: www.tvn-2.com/contenido-ex...
youtu.be
Presentation by Dr. Daniel Abouganem: Jews of Colón, Panamá
YouTube video by LAJSA - Latin American Jewish Studies Association
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Today on this 22nd day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jewish community of Panama! Today most Jews live in Panama City, but the first synagogue Kaal Kadosh Yangacob was built in Colón (sand floor!). It got its start from Curaçaoan Jews who came to Panama in 1876 due to a financial crisis.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Jewish History / Studies Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania - 2027–28 Fellowship: Between Mind and World in Premodern Jewish Life networks.h-net.org/jobs/70078/h...
networks.h-net.org
Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania - 2027–28 Fellowship: Between Mind and World in Premodern Jewish Life | H-Net
Humanistic inquiry has long been energized by a desire to enmesh texts and ideas into the social, political, and material contexts in which they developed. The study of premodern Jews has likewise been driven by this desire—always on the lookout for new ways to move between the ideational and the real—to better understand texts and ideas as responses to and as shaping forces within a world of social interaction and conflict, materiality and spatiality, and the contingencies of lived experience.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Today's tantalizing tidbit: this wonderful description of a Jewish wedding in NYC in June of 1800 by Joyce Mears Myers (widow of famed silversmith Myer Myers) to her daughter Rebecca Myers Mordecai. She is describing the wedding of her niece Hetty Isaacs to Isaac Moses (of South Carolina).
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Yowza! Sharing this wonderful and beautiful website put together by Valerie van der Meulen-Sheppard on her family: It includes many key Jewish families from the Caribbean including Barbados, Suriname, and Trinidad. So many lovely photos and artifacts! #CaribbeanAmericanHeritageMonth #CaribbeanJews
valsheppard.com
HOME/Sheppard-1823 | Family Stories
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Today on this 19th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month and Juneteenth. Sarah Rodrigues Brandon and Isaac Lopez Brandon began their lives poor, Christian and enslaved on the island of Barbados but ended their lives as some of the wealthiest Jews in New York. Neither lived to see Juneteenth
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Learn about kosher boarding houses in 18th Century New York in a piece I wrote for the Jewish Women's Archive: jwa.org/encyclopedia...
jwa.org
Colonial Period in the United States | Jewish Women's Archive
Jewish women in colonial America led varied lives, with some occupying traditional roles as mothers and wives and others remaining single. Some ran their own businesses and others worked as servants f...
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Learn more about 19th century Jewish boarding houses in this wonderful post by Shari Rabin on "You Are Where You Live: Jews, Religion, and the New York Boardinghouse." www.gothamcenter.org/blog/you-are...
gothamcenter.org
You Are Where You Live: Jews, Religion, and the New York Boardinghouse — The Gotham Center for New York City History
You Are Where You Live: Jews, Religion, and the New York Boardinghouse By Shari Rabin
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Today's tantalizing tidbit: Jewish boarding houses in the 1850s. One was run by Jamaican Jewish merchant Solomon Lazarus and his wife Rebecca. The other was run by an unmarried woman named Rebecca Phillips. Many members of the Sephardic synagogue lived with Rebecca.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
On this 17the Day of Caribbean American Heritage Month: Jewish gravestones of the Caribbean! the early communities follow the Portuguese jewish tradition from Amsterdam and Hamburg which allowed for human figures, angels, and the hand of God cutting down the tree of life. What figures do you see?
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Today's tantalizing tidbit: Marseilles, or white-corded quilting, created intricate and elegant raised patterns on white cotton. Marseilles Quilt, 1830-1850. Byron and Sara Rhodes Dillow Collection, International Quilt Museum www.internationalquiltmuseum.org/quilt/200804...
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On this 16th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish houses of the Caribbean! The Wedding Cake House, Scharloo, Curaçao. Originally built by Elias Salomon Levy Maduro for his 18-year-old daughter, Deborah Rebecca. Now the home of the Nationaal Archief Curaçao. Photo by Laura Arnold Leibman
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On this 16th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish houses of the Caribbean! "A North-East View of the House of Mr. Emanuel Lousada, Kingston, Jamaica," painted by Samuel Felsted in 1778. This painting sold at auction in 2017 for US$80,000 (JS10 million).
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On this 16th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish houses of the Caribbean! Interior patio of Scharlooweg 55, Scharloo, Curaçao. Birthplace of the famous Jewish WWII hero, George Maduro. Image from the book "Curaçao. Willemstad: a City of Monuments."
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On this 16th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish houses of the Caribbean! The Emil house in Paramaribo, Suriname. Located near the Portuguese and High German Synagogues. Photo by Laura Arnold Leibman
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On this 16th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish houses of the Caribbean! Landhuis Habaai, Curaçao. Most famously owned by the Senior Family. Today an art gallery. Photo by Laura Arnold Leibman, 2012.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
On this 16th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish houses of the Caribbean! Landhuis Klein Santa Marta, Curaçao, 2012. Photo by Laura Arnold Leibman (or maybe Stevan J Arnold??) Since our trip, the house has been gloriously restored: www.curacao.com/.../landhuis...
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
View of the farm at Frederic Church's Olana. A landscape artist, Church not only carefully constructed his house but also the views and landscapes in which it was situated. Photo by Laura Arnold Leibman
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
More views of the beautiful Frederic Church's Olana which we visited on Sunday. Can you imagine growing up in this incredible house or circling up in one of the many book nooks to read? Photos by Laura Arnold Leibman. #fredericchurch #Olana #americaneclecticism #historichouses #hudsonriverschool
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Today's SECOND tantalizing tidbit. What are those lacy things along side the face of Rebecca Levy Tobias in her portrait by Jacob Hart Lazarus? These are lappets and they were popular as part of women's caps in the 1840s. Here's a beautiful example of a lappets and cap from the Leo Baeck Institute.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Today's tantalizing tidbit. Did you know that during the 1840s-1850s, Jewish women's sewing associations sprung up around the country? Women sewed clothes for the Jewish poor, shrouds for the dead, and quilts (and havelocks) for soldiers and loved ones.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
On this 15th Day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, Jewish ritual baths of the Caribbean! Mikveh was an essential part of early modern Jewish society, and the early communities of the Caribbean used baths to maintain family purity as well as welcome conversos back into the fold of Jewish life.
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Reposted by Laura Arnold Leibman
Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Gut Shabbos and Shabbat Shalom to everyone except the people who are okay with this. www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/09/b...
themarshallproject.org
25 Babies and Toddlers Are in ICE Custody on an Average Day
On an average day under Trump, ICE has 25 children aged 3 or younger in custody. In total, at least 500 babies and toddlers have been detained.
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Reposted by Laura Arnold Leibman
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 12/06/2026
In a Kvetchbook by Barry Blitt, Clavicular outmogs some unexpected things.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
On this 11th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jews of the Dominican Republic! 🇩🇴 The DR allowed Jewish migration during the Holocaust. Jewish refugees built agricultural communities like Sosúa. This documentary contains interviews community members today, including some refugees.
youtu.be
The Hidden Faith: Jews of Dominican Republic - Chapter 1
YouTube video by The Hidden Faith Project
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
On this 12th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jews of Cuba! 🇨🇺 Some Cubans descend from early conversos, but most Jews arrived in Cuba in the 20th century. By the time of the Cuban Revolution it had the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, exceeding both Curaçao and Jamaica.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
The conversation about Jews and the Revolution last week with Jonathan Sarna is up! vimeo.com/1198614194?f...
vimeo.com
Jews and the American Revolution with Dr. Jonathan Sarna and Dr. Laura Arnold Leibman
This is "Jews and the American Revolution with Dr. Jonathan Sarna and Dr. Laura Arnold Leibman" by Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love t...
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
On the 10th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jews of early Haiti/Saint-Domingue! The first Jews were expelled from the island in 1683, but they slowly returned. The most famous were the parents of poet Penina Moise. Like many islands, Haiti also gave Jews refuge during the Holocaust
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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The CU Archives always does a fabulous display for Reunion. I was chuffed to see Isaac Abrahams (first Jewish CU grad, class of 1774), and the map of NYC with "(N) College" outlined in red (King's was the only option) as well as "(&) Jews Synagogue" and "Jews Cemetery." @lauraleibman.bsky.social
List of names of graduates in 1774Map key
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
On this 9th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jews of Sint Maarten! The community flourished in the eighteenth century before the synagogue was destroyed in an 1819 Hurricane. It had strong ties to the Jews of Curaçao and St. Eustatius #CaribbeanAmericanHeritageMonth
avotaynuonline.com
The Lost Jews of St. Maarten
The first time I visited the half-Dutch, half-French island of St. Martin/St. Maarten in 1991, I heard that it once had a Jewish community. St. Maarten is a 36-square-mile island in the eastern Car…
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
On this 8th Day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jewish community of Nevis. At its peak in the 18thC, there were about 75-100 Jews on the island, or about the same size as 18thC Savannah. Like most Caribbean Jewish communities of the era, it go its start with the fall of Recife in 1654.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Part of what I found so lovely about the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum was thinking about how the artist’s early years in this evocative landscape shaped his incredible eye and sense of wonder. His paintings are often noted for their attention to the sitter’s individuality and expression.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
On this 7th day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the island of St. Thomas. The Jewish community of this island had strong ties to Curaçao and also was a place of refuge after Admiral Rodney invaded Statia. The Hanukkiah in the First Salute exhibit travelled to St. Thomas with the refugees
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Went on the tour of the Touro Synagogue today for the first time in years I had totally forgotten the strange design on the banca. Ezra Stiles mentioned it in his description from when it opened in the 1760s. Fascinating example of Chinoiserie resonating with nearby houses. Image sources comments
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Charmed by the Loeb Visitors Center and their Jewish Walking Tour! It was so long since I had been in Newport, last time I was there they were digging the hole for the center’s foundation! 😱 #JewishNewport
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Made a detour on the way back from Providence today first in Newport and the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum, the latter of which was truly magical. Highly recommend. Stuart Painted many early American Jews including several members of the Gratz family
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
famous Gilbert Stuart paintings of Jewish women Sarah Rodrigues Rivera and her son Joshua, The Jewish Museum. Rachel Myers Hays, The Arnold and Deanne Kaplan Collection of Early American Judaica, Penn Libraries Rachel Gratz Moses 1806 Rosenbach Museum and Library. Miriam Simon Gratz, copy KKMI
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
On the 6th Day of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the Jews of St. Eustatius! At its peak, this community was about 30% of the island’s white population. Most Jews lived in the main port of Oranjestad, near the Honen Dalim synagogue. #America250 #synagoguelife #CaribbeanAmericanHeritageMonth
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this...
smithsonianmag.com
This Jewish Community in the Caribbean Smuggled Gunpowder to the Patriots During the Revolution. A British Admiral Condemned the Island as a 'Nest of Vipers'
A new exhibition at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, in Philadelphia, spotlights the little-known wartime contributions of the Jews of St. Eustatius
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Had a wonderful time with Jonathan D. Sarna at The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center yesterday! Blown away by the gorgeous interior of the various sanctuaries. Such a wide variety of stained glass—including some Tiffany windows. Be still my heart! ♥️
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Another great map that shows historical images of NYC architecture: 1940s.nyc/map#13.69/40... Unfortunately not as easy to navigate as the one at NYPL, but a different set of photos.
1940s.nyc
1940s NYC | Street photos of every building in New York City in 1939/1940
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Reposted by Laura Arnold Leibman
Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813 – 1897) was an African-American writer who escaped from slavery and was later freed. She became an abolitionist speaker and reformer, and wrote an autobiographical novel, first serialized, then published as a book in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent. #CelebratingWomen
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Reposted by Laura Arnold Leibman
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 04/06/2026
The easiest way to inform people that you are literary is by hosting a reading series. Here are some ideas. www.newyorker.com/humor/shouts...
newyorker.com
New Reading Series We Are Strongly Considering Hosting
The easiest way to inform people that you are literary is by hosting a reading series. Here are some ideas.
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Today's lovely object, the daguerreotype of Miriam Peixotto Davis from 1860. She was the youngest daughter of Daniel Levy Maduro Peixotto and Rachel Seixas Peixotto (niece of Gershom Mendes Sexias). Image from the Loeb Portrait Database loebjewishportraits.com/.../miriam-p...
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Laura Arnold Leibman @lauraleibman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Join us this evening in person or online! Temple Emanu-El Celebrates America at 250 A New World, A New Choice: Jews and the American Revolution Dr. Jonathan Sarna in conversation with Dr. Laura Arnold Leibman streicker.nyc/events/sarna...
streicker.nyc
Dr. Jonathan Sarna with Dr. Laura Leibman – The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center
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