The relationship between Jews and finance has a long and troubled history. Antisemitic conspiracy theories of Jews controlling the banking system and caricatures of unscrupulous Jewish moneylenders have been a persistent fixture of Western discourse on finance and capitalism for centuries. In response, it has been tempting for historians to avoid the topic altogether. But that is a mistake. In recent years, scholars of medieval and early-modern Europe like Julie Mell and Francesca Trivellato have shown the value of reckoning with the history of Jews in early financial markets, extending our knowledge of both early capitalism and Western discourses around religious and racial difference. Similarly, Rebecca Kobin has challenged historians of U.S. business to examine the “real or imagined role of Jews in the creation, expansion, and maintenance of American capitalism.”
This panel takes up that call by looking at the relationship between Jewishness and Wall Street in the late-twentieth century. Papers will approach this topic from two angles. First is the actual role of Jews in New York financial service companies and their vendors, like Big Law firms. Did historically Jewish and non-Jewish firms differ substantially in their business activities? Were Jewish firms more open to recruiting not just Jewish but other minority talent to Wall Street, such as African Americans and women? Second is the cultural and media discourse about Jews on Wall Street. How did antisemitism intersect with popular criticisms of Wall Street’s explosive growth in the 1980s? Were Jewish community leaders anxious about high-profile insider trading investigations of Jewish financiers producing a broader antisemitic backlash? What role did Jewishness play in public discussions of “good” versus “bad” capitalists in an era of Wall Street-driven deindustrialization, layoffs, and mega-mergers?