12/26/2025
🕎🇺🇸 From the Maccabees to the American Revolution: A Forgotten Jewish Story of Freedom
Every Hanukkah, we celebrate the ancient Maccabees - the Jewish heroes who resisted tyranny and fought for religious freedom. But as we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, it’s time to remember another powerful chapter of Jewish resistance: the Jewish patriots of the American Revolution.
Long before Ellis Island, Jews were already here building communities, fighting alongside their neighbors, financing the war effort, and shaping the ideals of a new nation. Figures like Jonas Phillips, who owned an early copy of the Declaration of Independence, Francis Salvador, Haym Salomon, and Mordecai Sheftall didn’t just believe in America, they helped make it. They fought tyranny, championed liberty, and even pushed for religious freedom in the Constitution itself.
For the first time in centuries, Jews weren’t just fleeing persecution, they were running toward a revolutionary idea: that freedom and sovereignty belong to the people.
At a moment when antisemitism once again casts Jews as outsiders, this history matters. It reminds us that the Jewish community has been part of America’s story from the very beginning - not on the margins, but at the founding.
As we light the Hanukkah candles, let’s honor not only the heroes who freed Jerusalem, but also the Jewish patriots who helped light the path of American democracy. ✨
