1. Jonathan D Sarna was born on 10 January 1955 and 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.
Jonathan Sarna is the son of Hebrew College librarian Helen Horowitz Sarna and biblical scholar Nahum Sarna.
Jonathan Sarna is regarded by The Forward newspaper as one of the most prominent historians of American Judaism.
Jonathan Sarna is the author of Lincoln and the Jews: A History, from St Martin's Press.
Jonathan Sarna is a member of The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute's Academic Advisory Board.
Jonathan Sarna condemned atrocities against Jews in Russia, putting human rights on the American diplomatic agenda.
Jonathan Sarna rediscovered Cora Wilburn, a celebrated 19th century poet and author of the first American Jewish novel, whose work had been forgotten.
Jonathan Sarna received the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry's Marshall Sklare Award in 2002.
Jonathan Sarna 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.
Jonathan Sarna is married to Boston College theology professor Ruth Langer, with two children, Aaron and Leah.