Skip to main content
  • Information for
    • Students
    • Alumni & Friends
    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • Community
  • QUICK LINKS
  • DIRECTORY
  • APPLY
  • GIVE
  • RENT
Hunter College
About
  • Overview
  • Mission
  • Strategic Plan
  • Accreditation
  • Fast Facts
  • Office of the President
  • Capital Projects & Planning
  • Sustainability
  • Campus Information
  • Contact Us
Academics
  • Approach
  • Provost
  • Schools
  • Departments & Programs
  • Majors
  • Honors & Scholars
  • Education Abroad
  • Advising
  • Research & Creative Works
  • Course Catalogs
Admissions
  • Overview
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Course Catalogs
Student Life
  • Clubs & Organizations
  • Residence Life
  • Athletics
  • Dining On Campus
  • Community
  • Events
  • News
  • Libraries
Hunter College Schools
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Health Professions
  • Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing
  • Silberman School of Social Work
More Schools
  • Hunter College Campus Schools
  • Hunter College Continuing Education
  • Libraries
  • Students
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Community
  • Events
  • News
  • APPLY
  • GIVE
  • RENT
  • QUICK LINKS
  • DIRECTORY
News / Jewish Studies Center Archive /

Unkosher: The Role of Organized Crime in the Kosher Food Trades, 1900 - 1920

November 18, 2020
Share
Kosher Pizza place

On 11/18/20, Hunter hosted this program as part of the Robert Seltzer Lunch Lecture Series.

During the era of the mass migration of Jews to the United States over the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the kosher food industry experienced unprecedented expansion. A key, hidden, and under-appreciated force behind this commercial growth was Jewish organized crime. Kosher food businesses often called upon Jewish gangsters to maintain industrial rules, punish commercial actors who challenged existing trade practices and to deal with union affairs.

This talk compared the role of organized crime in the kosher poultry industry and the trade in Jewish baked goods. Jewish gangsters operated differently in each of these sectors. But their notable influence in the kosher food industry conveys just how important organized crime was in the development of the Jewish ethnic economy over the years of largescale immigration to America.

Aaron Welt is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Jewish Studies Department of Hunter College, where he teaches courses on American Jewish History. He received his PhD in Jewish History from NYU and is currently working on a book manuscript that explores the role of organized crime in the development of Jewish immigrant capitalism in early 20th century New York.

Watch the program below.

See More On Demand Programs

PreviousNext

Office of Communications
for media information and more
student watching online event
Hunter on Demand

Enjoy virtual lectures, discussions and readings by members of Hunter’s distinguished faculty.

Join Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr

NEWS SPOTLIGHT

May 9, 2025
Jody Gottfried Arnhold: Mother of Dance at Hunter

Often called the “doyenne of dance,” Jody Arnhold is an international luminary of dance advocacy and education.

May 5, 2025
Hunter School of Education Hosts Playgroup for Local Families

Hunter College’s School of Education has launched a playgroup for infants and toddlers and their families that helps special-needs children.

See All Spotlight News

EVENTS CALENDAR

May 14, 2025
Afterlives of San Juan Hill: Lincoln Square/ San Juan Hill Exhibition

In 1958, an emerging Puerto Rican community was displaced from the Lincoln Square and San Juan Hill neighborhoods to make way for the ...

Jun 4, 2025
Diasporican Cultural Summit

The Diasporican Cultural Summit is designed to address the pressing need for gathering spaces that bring together diasporic cultural workers, ...

See All Featured Events

HUNTER

Hunter College
695 Park Ave NY, NY 10065
(212) 772-4000

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • ABOUT
  • ACADEMICS
  • ADMISSIONS
  • EVENTS
  • NEWS
Hunter College Schools
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Health Professions
  • Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing
  • Silberman School of Social Work
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Health Professions
  • Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing
  • Silberman School of Social Work
Our Other Schools
  • Hunter College Campus Schools
  • Hunter College Continuing Education
  • Hunter College Campus Schools
  • Hunter College Continuing Education
Hunter College Libraries
More Info
  • Bookstore
  • Contact Us & Feedback
  • Jobs
  • Public Safety
  • Roosevelt House
  • Student Housing
  • Space Rentals
  • Bookstore
  • Contact Us & Feedback
  • Jobs
  • Public Safety
  • Roosevelt House
  • Student Housing
  • Space Rentals
Public Information
  • Annual Security & Fire Safety Report
  • Consumer Information
  • CUNY Tobacco Policy
  • Enough is Enough
  • Focus on Campus
  • Annual Security & Fire Safety Report
  • Consumer Information
  • CUNY Tobacco Policy
  • Enough is Enough
  • Focus on Campus
CUNY
  • © 2025 Hunter College
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Terms