Disciplines

Jewish Studies

Abstract

Bert Shanas was born at Hunts Point Hospital in 1944. Having grown up in the Hunts Point neighborhood (residing at 930 Fox Street and attending PS 39, JHS 125, and Morris High School), he spent his childhood writing for the school newspaper, going to the Bronx Zoo and Yankee Stadium, and partaking in street games. In early childhood, Shanas remembers his neighbors and peers all being Jewish, but mentions that around the time of the Great Puerto Rican Migration there were a lot more Spanish speakers in the South Bronx. In high school Shanas recalls observing many interethnic friendships, though he did notice tensions as well, recalling a knife incident at his school.

Shanas pursued journalism at Hunter College in the Bronx (now Lehman College), and for the next 22 years worked at the New York Daily News. During this time, he also became an adjunct journalism professor at New York University and Hunter College, and obtained a Master’s degree in Social Research at the New School. Shanas then began working in public relations as director of communications at the United Federation of Teachers, where he would work for 11 years. He recalls the 1967 teachers’ strike, citing his fair reporting of the Union as a possible reason why he landed the job with them. The next 9 years he was press secretary to the President of the American Federation of Teachers, before opening his own public relations firm (Shanas Communications Inc.) for the final 8 years of his career. Shanas also worked as a freelance magazine writer throughout his career.

Shanas moved to Riverdale to provide his children with better schooling and more space. After his first marriage, he left the Bronx in 1971 and relocated to Rockland County. Later, he moved to Manhattan for work, and decided to stay after marrying his second wife.

Shanas’ grandparents migrated from Ukraine to Canada, where his parents were born. After getting married, his parents moved to the Bronx in 1936. His father was a purchasing agent and his mother was a homemaker. Shanas’ mother obtained a high school diploma, but he is unsure whether his father obtained his, as he joined the Canadian Navy at a young age. His family was very religious – they kept a kosher home (with the exception of going out to eat), lit Shabbos candles on Fridays, and went to shul synagogue on holidays.

Overall, Shanas still feels an appreciation for the Bronx and keeps up with the Back to the Bronx magazine. He is currently working on a 700-page family history tracing his lineage back to the 1600s, examining the effects of antisemitism on his family over time.

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