Description: Jeffrey Marx wrestles with both the truth and the antisemitic fantasy of Jewish Arson in the early 20th century.

Biography: Ordained in 1983, Rabbi Marx served as the spiritual leader of The Santa Monica Synagogue from 1985- 2021.  As an independent scholar, he has examined the out-of-the-way chapters of American Jewish history, from his article titled “Eating Up: The Origins of Bagels and Lox” to his book Smoothing the Jew about Jewish self-representations at the turn of the 20th century,  designed to counteract the classic ethnic stereotypes; and most recently, Jewish Firebugs: Arson and Antisemitism from the Civil War to WWI, coming out in July of 2026 from New York University Press.