Social Support Networks and Loneliness Among Elderly Jews in Russia and Ukraine

The collapse of the Soviet Union had devastating consequences for the lives of its population, especially for older adults, many of whom became impoverished and were left with no social support. Using data from a survey of 2,579 elderly Jews in two of the largest countries of the former Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine, we examine variables that affect their feeling of loneliness. Unmarried and childless elderly persons reported the highest feelings of loneliness. Married elderly persons who maintained frequent contact with their children felt least lonely. Moreover, married and unmarried elderly persons who did not maintain frequent contact with relatives or friends were lonelier than those who maintained such contact. The characteristics of social networks were significantly correlated with loneliness. The findings also showed that Jews in Ukraine had fewer social networks and felt lonelier compared to Jews in Russia.     

Jewish response to the non-Jewish question: “Where were the Jews during the fighting?” 1941–5

ABSTRACT

The war of the USSR against Nazi Germany led to an increase of negative expressions in regard to Jews. Often members of the Soviet population accused Jews of avoiding combat, of cowardice, and of an inherent incapacity to feel patriotic toward Russia. Such a view was an adaptation of prewar anti-Jewish prejudices to war-time conditions. Some Jews, both at the front and in the rear, viewed these expressions as a sign of the emergence of an ethnic inequality that did not exist in the prewar Soviet Union. Increased Jewish sensitivity to one aspect of the theme of equality (the idea that Jews were fighting as well and as bravely as members of other ethnic groups) inclined Soviet Jews to prefer the term and concept of “Soviet” rather than those of “Russian.” The former represented for them a state of all its ethnic groups, including the Jews, while the latter appeared to reflect a priority accorded to a single ethnic group, the Russians. Anti-Jewish attitudes in the Soviet rear and, to some extent, at the front as well, was one factor that led to the reinforcement of the Soviet Jewish identity.     

The national historical archive of Belarus 1

This essay considers a new, troubling development in the former Soviet Union. It calls for historians to be attentive and thereby perhaps to forestall or minimise potential damage to Jews and Jewish interests in the former Soviet Union which might result from the use and misuse of history. The essay assesses recent statements from a former minister in Russia regarding Jewish agricultural settlement in Crimea during the interwar period. These statements echo monstrous antisemitic fabrications from the High Stalinist years and suggest that Jews in the former Soviet Union may still be vulnerable to the effects of old Soviet‐style habits of historical manipulation.     

The Representation of the Holocaust in the Soviet Press, 1941–1945

Abstract

The article presents the first in-depth examination of the representation of the Holocaust in the Soviet press during the period of its perpetration, 1941–1945. The article illustrates that alongside growing anti-Semitism, both among the population and the regime, Soviet journalists, primarily Il'ya Ehrenburg and Vasilii Grossman, reported on the suffering and murder of European Jewry. The article examines the Soviet presentation of Nazi racial theory and compares it to the representation of Nazi racial theory in the American and British press during the war. The article looks at the reasons behind Soviet press coverage of the Holocaust, such as the use of atrocities to motivate the people to fight. It also examines the way in which the Soviet press used the Nazi persecution of the Jewish population as a means of distinguishing the fascist and socialist systems and highlighting the equality of all peoples, which it claimed existed in the Soviet Union. The article examines the Soviet representation of the behaviour of the Jews under occupation, focusing on the three main attributes — resistance, dignity and the brotherhood of the peoples. In general, the article strives to illustrate that the Soviet press reported on the Holocaust during the war and recognized the racial nature of the Nazi persecution and extermination of European Jewry.     

THE CULTURAL FRAMEWORKS OF PREJUDICE: Reputational Images and the Postwar Disjuncture of Jews and Communism

Responses to prominent reputations provide a framework for understanding the growth and decline of group prejudice. In the 1930s, the connection between American Jews and Communism was both an empirical and cognitive reality—Jews constituted a significant portion of the American Communist Party and many Americans stereotyped them as such. However, by mid-century, the perceptual linkage between Jew and Communist had largely vanished. We explain the change in public attitudes by treating prejudice as a cultural framework for collective memory. Building on Blumer (1958) and the empirical conclusions of other prominent sociologists of the period, we argue that group prejudice depends on a group's distinctiveness, its perceived moral imbalance, and the discursive utility of attacks. When components of this three-part frame weaken, prejudice dissipates. Specifically, we claim that the specificity of reputations serves as a concrete stand-in for more diffuse images of social groups. While group position is not only the result of the reputation of prominent figures, the public images of these figures help to shape prejudice and its decline. As an empirical case, we examine the cultural framework for interpreting the linkage of American Jews and Communism in the late 1940s and early 1950s through the reputations of Alger Hiss, Roy Cohn, and Adolf Hitler. Presented by reputational entrepreneurs, these images emphasize American Communists who were decidedly non-Jewish, underline the prominence of anti-Communist American Jews, and delegitimize public anti-Semitism.     

East Meets West: A View from Soviet Student Newcomers to Israeli Society

This paper investigates the attitudes held by young student newcomers to Israel from the former Soviet Union about the different groups that comprise Israeli society. Young newcomers are a product of the education of the former Soviet regime and the Jewish community. They were interviewed soon after their arrival in Israel and after they have been in contact with Israeli society, especially through their contacts in the universities and through the media. Results show that young newcomers categorize Israeli society in terms of social distance in three groups, ranging from those most like them to those most different. Ethiopian Jews and Arabs are relegated to the same group, despite the fact that the Soviet newcomers share a common experience of immigration with the Ethiopians.     

BLACKS, WHITES, AND ANTI-SEMITISM

Major national surveys conducted in 1964 and 1981 indicated that blacks were more negatively oriented toward Jews than were whites. Drawing on a national survey conducted in 1992, this article establishes that this gap has endured. Moreover, the gap persists when statistical controls are instituted for a host of factors that are related to race and themselves influence attitudes toward Jews. The latter is a key finding in light of the paucity of statistical controls in prior studies. Finally, black negativity toward Jews extends into both economic and noneconomic domains. This finding contrasts with the argument that African American anti-Semitism is attributable to their reactions to what they deem objectionable Jewish business practices and perceive as Jewish dominance of the American economy. The age pattern of anti-Semitism suggests that in the future black and white levels of anti-Semitism might be expected to diverge even more.     

Jews in the News – Representations of Judaism and the Jewish Minority in the Norwegian Contemporary Press

This article provides an analysis of how Jewish rituals and Jews as a minority group are represented and debated in the Norwegian press: How is “news about the Jews” framed by the media? Which discourses dominate the debates? Are notions of what it “takes to be Norwegian” put forward in these cases? The article is also an analysis of Jewish voices in the press, and based on the fact that Jewish advocates refer to minority-based legal rights suggests that the Jewish minority benefits from the use of a broader international human rights discussion in the press. I claim that a multicultural discourse provides the Jewish minority with language that makes it possible to argue for cultural rights without referring to Jewishness; offering protection against a general fear of anti-Semitism.     

Occupational closure and immigrant entrepreneurship: Russian Jews in Israel

The recent wave of Jews emigrating from countries of the former Soviet Union to Israel has created structural conditions for immigrant entrepreneurship. The large size of the migrant population and its spatial concentration create a demand for services and products that can be provided by immigrants. This paper investigates the factors associated with intentions to open a small business in a sample of Jewish immigrants from the countries of the former Soviet Union. It was found that intentions to open a small business are related to previous business experience, education, income, and length of residence in the country. Immigrants become interested in entrepreneurship after learning that their prospects of finding a job in their profession are meager and explain their motivation to open a small business as being to increase their income. The findings seem to support the disadvantage theory that conceptualizes entrepreneurship as an adaptive mechanism to structural barriers in the primary labor market that create an occupational closure for immigrants possessing low and middle levels of education and income.     

Jewish marriages in the USSR: a demographic analysis

Marriage trends among Jews in the former Soviet Union are examined for the period 1979-1989. Consideration is given to intermarriage, the percentage of the population that is currently married by sex, and marriage age. Data are presented for the whole country and for selected republics.     

“I bled like you,brother, although I was a thousand miles away”: postwar Yiddish sources on the experiences of Polish Jews in Soviet exile during World War II

ABSTRACT

An estimated 230,000 Polish Jews escaped Nazi persecution during World War II by flight or deportation to the interior of the Soviet Union. This article examines early postwar Yiddish and Polish sources on their survival in Soviet exile such as poems, newspaper articles, and witness testimonies. Two sets of sources are analyzed in-depth, testimonies written by young people in Jewish Displaced Persons (DP) camps in occupied Germany and Yiddish poetry from Poland and the DP camps. The author argues that many former exiles were eager to write down their experiences. In doing so, they were aware of the complex nature of deportation and flight that characterized the experiences of Polish Jews in the Soviet Union. In their testimonies many young witnesses express their understanding that they too were “marked by the khurbn.” Whereas Yiddish poetry from the same period helps us understand how writers dealt with their own story of wartime survival outside the realm of German persecution. In their poetry they seek meaning in their own suffering and express their desire to establish a dialogue with other survivors.     

Can digital skills raise occupational prestige among ethnic minorities?

Using data from a large-scale Annual Social Survey of Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, we investigate the correlation between digital skills and occupational prestige among veteran Jews and two minority groups, namely Arabs and immigrants to Israel from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Our findings show that both minority groups have significant disadvantages in occupational prestige compared to veteran Jews. Although causation cannot be inferred because of the correlational design of our study, digital skills were found to contribute to occupational prestige among veteran Jews and FSU immigrants, beyond the classic socio-demographic factors. The occupational prestige gap between veteran Jews and FSU immigrants was eliminated after controlling for socio-demographic variables and before taking digital skills into consideration. The effect of digital skills on occupational prestige among Arabs was insignificant and after controlling for socio-demographic and digital skills, the gap in occupational prestige between veteran Jews and Arabs remained significant.     

National Minority, National Mentality, and Communal Ethnicity: Changes in Ethnic Identity of Former Soviet Union Jewish Emigrants on the Israeli Kibbutz

In this paper we examine and compare the ethnic identity of the Jews in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and the process of change in ethnic identity among the new immigrants from the FSU. This analysis considers the role of the kibbutz as the first experience of Jewish community in their lives, as well as the location of the first phase of their process of absorption and resocialization into new and unfamiliar surroundings. The data are drawn through a longitudinal research design, with a pre‐ and post‐analysis of changes in the ethnicity of migrants studied from their arrival on the Israeli kibbutz until the completion of the five‐month kibbutz programme. We found that pre‐migration Soviet Jews defined their ethnicity as a discriminated national minority with a weak symbolic ethnicity content. The ambivalent nature of the ethnicity of Jews while in the FSU was expressed in the fact that although a majority were deculturized from traditional dimensions of Jewish life, they nevertheless felt they belonged to a specific ethnic group. Post‐migration ethnicity was found to be remarkably altered; the former ambivalence was dissolved. On the macro‐level, membership in the economically and politically successful Russian‐speaking group of Israeli society is a source of self esteem, rather than a sign of shameful otherness. On the micro‐level of ethnicity, the encounter in the initial phase of absorption in Israel, within the kibbutz Jewish community, often demands a re‐examination of their private concept of Jewishness, serving as a first step in resolving their ambivalent ethnic identity. Consequently, their new ethnic identity may now well have weaker boundaries, but a more positive (non‐alienating) content than that left behind.     

POLLING ON THE ISSUES PUBLIC OPINION AND THE NUCLEAR FREEZE

Throughout the first term of the Reagan administration, thenuclear freeze movement headlined the news and scored numerouspolitical victories. Hundreds of state and local governments,as well as the U.S. House of Representatives, passed resolutionsin support of the freeze. Public opinion polls played a majorrole in the debate, as the media and freeze advocates citednumerous polls indicating overwhelming public support for theinitiative. Yet a comprehensive and detailed examination ofnational polls reveals that public support for the freeze cameheavily qualified. While Americans expressed strong supportfor the basic concept of a freeze, they expressed doubts aboutthe possibility of a verifiable and balanced freeze agreement.Furthermore, the public doubted that the Soviet Union genuinelydesired such an agreement. Most surprisingly, the public didnot pay much attention to the debate. Few Americans claimedto know or care much about the freeze initiative, and fewerstill felt positively toward the political activists behindthe freeze.     

The Jewish Emigration from the Former Soviet Union to Germany

Since the end of the 1980s a massive emigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union (FSU) can be observed. Israel and the United States were the most important receiving countries, followed by Germany, a comparatively new immigration destination for Jews from the successor states of the USSR. One of the reasons the German Government allowed the admission of Jews from post-Soviet states was the Jewish community's claim that this immigration might rejuvenate the German Jewish population in the longer run. Using an index of demographic aging (Billeter's J), the following article examines if this has actually happened. Findings suggest that immigration actually initiated a process of rejuvenation in the Jewish population in Germany. However, it was reversed during the end of the 1990s because of an unaffected low fertility.     

Infusing Content about Jews and about Anti-Semitism into the Curricula

Abstract

The social work profession has overlooked the topic of Jews as a cultural-religious minority group and the problem of anti-Semitism. Yet, current accreditation standards mandate that social work programs educate students about the differences among ethnic, racial, and cultural groups. This article traces the history of the Jews and the dynamics of anti-Semitism. The author suggests that this content be incorporated into the social work curricula at the micro practice level. Students should explore their own ethnic identities and religious backgrounds. This self-exploration will enable them to be open to new information and to be aware of misinformation about other groups. At the macro practice level, role plays would help students practice their responses to anti-Semitic incidents and would sensitize them to the feelings of members of oppressed groups. Overall, the profession needs to research this content and work to eliminate anti-Semitism.     

'Idealists Headed to Israel, Pragmatics Chose Europe': Identity Dilemmas and Social Incorporation among Former Soviet Jews who Migrated to Germany

Since German reunification in 1989, about 185,000 former Soviet Jews have been granted refugee status in Germany. Drawing on my observations and in-depth interviews with recent immigrants in five German cities, this qualitative study explores the identity dilemmas faced by Russian Jews who moved to the lands of the historic nemesis loaded with the memories of the Holocaust. The findings suggest that for most informants migrating to Germany (rather than Israel or North America) was a pragmatic decision based on the anticipated benefits from the German welfare system, security and comfort of living in Europe. All but a few informants were secular and had limited interest in the Jewish life, keeping in touch with the Jewish communities only inasmuch as it proved useful for their resettlement. Most middle-aged informants were traumatised by their occupational downgrading and/or chronic unemployment, but many also believed that the welfare aid they receive from the German state is morally justified as a continuing retribution for the wartime crimes. Older immigrants did not even try to narrow a cultural gap with German society, kept to their co-ethnic social circle, and were permanently intimidated by the shadow of anti-Semitism. Conversely, many younger informants opined that past grievances were no longer relevant, tried to adopt some cultural features of the mainstream, and saw themselves as citizens of unified Europe, rather than Germany as such.     

‘Idealists Headed to Israel,Pragmatics Chose Europe’: Identity Dilemmas and Social Incorporation among Former Soviet Jews who Migrated to Germany

Since German reunification in 1989, about 185,000 former Soviet Jews have been granted refugee status in Germany. Drawing on my observations and in-depth interviews with recent immigrants in five German cities, this qualitative study explores the identity dilemmas faced by Russian Jews who moved to the lands of the historic nemesis loaded with the memories of the Holocaust. The findings suggest that for most informants migrating to Germany (rather than Israel or North America) was a pragmatic decision based on the anticipated benefits from the German welfare system, security and comfort of living in Europe. All but a few informants were secular and had limited interest in the Jewish life, keeping in touch with the Jewish communities only inasmuch as it proved useful for their resettlement. Most middle-aged informants were traumatised by their occupational downgrading and/or chronic unemployment, but many also believed that the welfare aid they receive from the German state is morally justified as a continuing retribution for the wartime crimes. Older immigrants did not even try to narrow a cultural gap with German society, kept to their co-ethnic social circle, and were permanently intimidated by the shadow of anti-Semitism. Conversely, many younger informants opined that past grievances were no longer relevant, tried to adopt some cultural features of the mainstream, and saw themselves as citizens of unified Europe, rather than Germany as such.     

International conference on Jewish civilization in eastern and central Europe,Minsk, 24–26 January 2000

A Symposium on Soviet Jewry

The Jews in Soviet Russia, Since 1917, Lionel Kochan (ed.). London, Oxford University Press for Institute of Jewish Affairs. 1970. ix + 357 pp. Index. £2.50.

Wanted: a history of Soviet Jewry

The Silent Millions: A History of the Jews in the Soviet Union by Joel Cang. London, Rapp and Whiting. 1969. 246 pp. £2.10.

Red Rose

Rosa Luxemburg, Ich War — Ich Bin — Ich Werede Sein, by Harry Wilde. Wien‐Muenchen‐Zurich, Verlag Fritz Molden. 1970. 264 pp.

A Book on Georgian Jewry

Yehudey Gruzia: Ma'avak Al Ha'shiva Le‐tsion (The Jews of Eorgia: A Struggle for the Return to Zion), by Mordecai Neishtat. Tel‐Aviv, Am Oved Publishers, Ltd. 1970. 148 pp. (in Hebrew).

Menshevism and the Jewish question

Russian Social Democracy; the Menshevik Movement. A Bibliography, by Anna M. Bourgina. Hoover Institution Bibliographical Series: XXXVI, The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, Stanford, California. 1968. 392 pp. (no price listed), (in Russian; English introduction).

Jewish writers of Byelorussia

Pismienniki Savieckaj Bielarusi: Karotki Bijabiblijahraficny Davednik (Writers of Soviet Byelorussia: a short Biobibliography), A. Harodzicki et al (comp.). Minsk, Vydavectva ‘Bielarus’. 1970. 440 pp. 82 kopeks.     

The shtetl in the museum: representing Jews in the eras of Stalin and Putin

This article considers the representation of the shtetl in two museum narratives devoted to Jews in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. The first, the state-funded 1939 exhibit “The Jews in Tsarist Russia and the USSR” was organized by the Jewish Section of the State Museum of Ethnography in Leningrad and remained on display to the Soviet public until the Nazi invasion in June 1941. The second is the privately funded Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow, which opened in 2012. Though conceived under radically different ideological and political circumstances, each exhibition conveys a significant message about the place of Jews in Soviet and post-Soviet society, respectively, and each positions the shtetl as a formative arena for Jewish civic identity vis-à-vis the Russian homeland. Across the chasm of over seventy years, these two museum projects raise strikingly similar questions about how and why cultural institutions are mobilized to define the relationship of Ashkenazi Jews and the state. In both cases, the shtetl plays a significant role in narrating this unequal relationship.