Only in AmericaBy: Richard Bernstein A probing biography of world renowned Jewish singer and actor Al Jolson and the history of his performance in and the making of The Jazz Singer Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from a shtetl in Lithuania to the United States in 1894 after his father secured a job as a rabbi in Washington, D. C. A poor, Yiddish speaking newcomer navigating a racially segregated and antisemitic America, young Jolson dreamed of becoming a