American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York
Settled in the mid-1970s by a small contingent of Hasidic families, Kiryas Joel is an American town with few parallels in Jewish history—but many precedents among religious communities in the United States. Professors Nomi M. Stolzenberg (USC, Gould School of Law) and David N. Myers (UCLA) will discuss their new book, which tells the story of how this group of pious, Yiddish-speaking Jews has grown to become a thriving insular enclave and a powerful local government in upstate New York.