Join us for a compelling book talk celebrating Credit to the Nation: Jewish Immigrant Bankers and American Finance, 1870–1930. Historian Rebecca Kobrin uncovers a powerful and often overlooked story: how Jewish immigrants, shut out of traditional financial institutions, built their own systems of credit to survive and thrive in the United States.

Arriving from the Russian Empire at the turn of the twentieth century, these immigrants created networks of lending that enabled others to secure passage to America, establish businesses, and gain a foothold in a new society. Drawing on rich archival materials in Russian, Yiddish, German, and English, Kobrin traces how these grassroots financial practices not only sustained immigrant communities but also reshaped New York’s urban and economic landscape. Their investments fueled real estate growth across the city, even as speculation contributed to the dramatic collapse of institutions like the Bank of United States during the Great Depression.

At once a story of innovation and caution, Credit to the Nation connects the past to the present, asking what happens when access to credit is denied and how marginalized communities respond.

Kobrin will be joined in conversation with Michael R. Cohen, Executive Director of the Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience and Stuart and Suzanne Grant Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University.

About the Speakers
Rebecca Kobrin is the Russell and Bettina Knapp Associate Professor of American Jewish History at Columbia University and Co-Director of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. A leading scholar of modern Jewish migration, her work spans international migration, urban history, American religion, and diaspora studies. She is the author and editor of several award-winning books, including Jewish Bialystok and Its Diaspora, recipient of the Jordan Schnitzer Prize, and a co-leader of the acclaimed Historical NYC Project, a digital map visualizing demographic change in New York City from 1850 to 1940. She has also received Columbia University’s Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in teaching and mentorship.

Michael R. Cohen is Executive Director of the Grant Center for the American Jewish Experience and Stuart and Suzanne Grant Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Tulane University. A historian of American Jewish life, his scholarship explores Jewish politics, identity, and communal leadership in the United States. He is the author of The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter’s Disciples and the Creation of an American Religious Movement, and his work has appeared in numerous academic journals and edited volumes. In addition to his research, Cohen is an engaged public historian and educator, frequently contributing to conversations on Jewish history and contemporary issues.

Book signing and dessert reception to follow the discussion.