NEW YORK (JTA) — Jonathan Sarna, a leading scholar of American Jewish history, is in critical condition at Yale New Haven Hospital after going into cardiac arrest at his daughter’s graduation.
Sarna, 59, the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University and a JTA board member, fell ill at the May 17 ceremony at Yale University.
A cardiologist nearby started CPR long before the ambulance arrived, according to an update on CarePages.com, where his family is providing updates on his condition. Since arriving at the hospital, he has been in the intensive care unit; he is under heavy sedation.
Sarna also serves as chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia and is a past winner of the National Jewish Book Award.
He has written, edited or co-edited more than 30 books, most recently “When General Grant Expelled the Jews” (Schocken, 2012), a National Jewish Book Award finalist.
Sarna’s family has requested well-wishers to reach out by mail or through CarePages.com rather than making phone calls or sending email messages.
