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Jonathan D. Sarna (born 10 January 1955) is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
In 2011 he was elected president of the Association for Jewish Studies and would serve in the position until 2015.
Sarna is a contributor on religion to the Newsweek–Washingtonpost.com joint project On Faith.
He is the author of Lincoln and the Jews: A History, from St. Martin's Press (2015).
He is a member of The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute's Academic Advisory Board.
One of Sarna's most widely cited academic contributions relates to his scholarship on Ulysses S. Grant's relationship with American Jews. General Ulysses S. Grant in December 1862 issued an order expelling Jewish traders from his military command; it was a blatant display of anti-Semitism and president Abraham Lincoln forced Grant to rescind it. In his book on When General Grant Expelled the Jews (2012) Sarna argues that Grant became one of the greatest friends of Jews in American history. When he was president, he appointed more Jews than any previous president. He condemned atrocities against Jews in Russia, putting human rights on the American diplomatic agenda.Jonathon D. Sarna, When General Grant Expelled the Jews Knopf Doubleday 2012 pp.100-101.
Sarna rediscovered Cora Wilburn, a celebrated 19th century poet and author of the first American Jewish novel, whose work had been forgotten.
He is the author or editor of more than thirty books on American Jewish history and life, his American Judaism: A History, recently published in a second edition, won six awards including the 2004 Everett Jewish Book of the Year Award from the Jewish Book Council.
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