Jay Rubenstein is Alvin and Sally Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His latest book is Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream: The Crusades, Apocalyptic Prophecy, and the End of History (Oxford, 2019).
If we do rebuild it, will we keep the supersessionist imagery that was fundamental to medieval Christianity—and to anti-Semitism as well? At the very least, artists, architects, historians, theologians, and—yes—politicians ought to grapple with, rather than unthinkingly follow, the instincts of one deeply unpopular president.
