Jews and the Labor Movement

 Name “common Jewish

Stereotypes” that you have heard used

against Jews.

[Activity]

 

"Jews are greedy/love money"

-A possible early stem can be found in the bible, when Judas, a Jew prior to becoming an apostle, betrays Jesus by selling him to Romans for 30 pieces of silver.

-Perhaps the most common Jewish stereotype. -An example can be found in the Shakespeare play The Merchant of Venice, whose main antagonist is a Jewish moneylender named Shylock. Shylock demands 'a pound of flesh' from a character, should he be unable to return a loan on time.  -In order to stay afloat the Jewish community gained experience in both earning and keeping money, and so many drifted to jobs in banking and economics.

-Lending history, combined with jealousy and previously held antisemitism, is a likely explanation to the origin of this stereotype.

"Jews have big noses" -Jews, like Arabs, originated in the desert, and thus their larger noses make it easier to expel air. -This, along with physical features of other groups is a common area of research in anthropology. 

"Jewish mothers are overbearing"

-We all know one. It's the stereotype that Jewish mothers nag and interfere in their children's lives even after adulthood.

-Lisa Aronson Fontes PhD describes the stereotype as one of "endless caretaking and boundless self-sacrifice" by a mother who demonstrates her love by "constant overfeeding and unremitting solicitude about every aspect of her children's and husband's welfare[s]".

 -It seems, however, that these stereotypes are rooted more closely to gender stereotypes than religious ones. -Author William B. Helmreich observes that the attributes of a Jewish mother—overprotection, pushiness, aggression, and guilt-inducement—could equally well be ascribed to mothers of other ethnicities, from Italians through Blacks to Puerto Ricans (Helmreich 76).

 

 

 

Areas of Concern with Jews and the Labor Movement

 What were the reasons for leaving their homeland?-Jews faced discrimination in Russia, particularly during the reign of Stalin and the Perestroika period 

-Jews from Germany, and surrounding countries such as Austria and Poland fled with knowledge of the impending Holocaust.

-A large increase in Israeli immigration can be seen after Israel's independence in 1948. Many Israelis feared the instability of the middle east over the agreement and insecurity of religion.

 

The Jewish Labor Committee• Organized before the start of WWII (1934).• Designed to:

o Create equal job opportunities for Jewish immigrants seeking work.o Support Jewish labor institutions in European countries.o Provide assistance to the anti-Hitler underground movement.o Provide aid for victims of Nazism.o Combat Anti-Semitism.

 

What languages were spoken by Jews in the labor movement?

• Yiddish- A language commonly spoken by the Ashkenazic (descendants of Jews born in Germany during the medieval times) Jews; a mixure of the German and Hebrew languages.  

• Russian- As some of the Jewish immigrants were Russian, it is a given that Russian was one of the languages spoken by Jews during the labor movement.

• American English- As Jews began to assimilate into the American culture, they began to speak English in addition to their native tongues.

An example of Yiddish text in its various forms

 

What types of Jobs did Jews in the labor movement hold?• Garment Factory Work - Many Jewish immigrants worked in

sewing workshops in their homelands; when the clothing industry in the United States hit a strong point, many Jews chose to immigrate and continue what they had been doing on a larger scale.

 

What types of Jobs did Jews in the labor movement hold?

• Retail/Shop-keeping- Another common job for Jewish immigrants was retail (a.k.a. shop-keeping), as many of them had owned shops in their homelands (and decided to continue doing so when they immigrated).

 

When/Why did the Jewish labor movement start?

The Jewish labor movement began in the early 20th Century. 

With the high numbers of Jewish immigrants having arrived in the United States, many businesses decided to use them for cheap labor. In addition to poor working conditions and unfair wages, Jewish workers also faced antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. 

The Jewish labor movement was put into place to try to make a difference for not only Jews but other immigrants. By standing up and demanding better conditions, and forming unions; Jews were able to improve things for themselves and show the other minorities that they could too if they stood up as well.

 

What were the living conditions of immigrants in the US?

Tenements: During the labor movement, Jews (and most other immigrants) were forced to live in tenements. Tenements were apartment buildings that were in poor condition, very close to each other, and usually did not have windows. Each family, no matter how large, was only given a single-room apartment to live in.

 

What makes this group similar and/or different from majority of Americans?

Similarities• Employment• Citizenship• Housing• Food• Traditions• Entertainment

Differences• Faith• Religious Practices• Religious Groups• Customs and beliefs• Food• Traditions• Entertainment• Patriotic for both America

and Israel• Political views

 

What forms of institutionalized discrimination have they faced?

• Many forms of Discrimination since as early as the 1700's.• Racism/Antisemitism • The Charter Decreed for the Jews of Prussia (April,1750).• The Jew Bill (1753)• Mein Kampf (1923)• Segregation• Decree for the Elimination of the Jews from German Economic Life

(1938)• Multiple antisemitic written works by Voltaire, Napoleon Bonaparte,

Karl Marx, Ulysses S. Grant, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Henry Ford, and Walt Disney.

 

What forms of institutionalized discrimination have they faced?

• The Holocaust    -The Nuremberg Laws        -Anti-Jew propaganda     -"The Final Solution"           -Kristallnacht    -SS St. Louis                      -Anti-Jewish Pogroms     • American Literature: T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound

expressing antisemitic remarks against Jews in their works. 

 

A main point of preserved Jewish culture that's prevalent today is:

Listen to this piece

Regina Spektor - The Flowers

Listen to this song

MUSIC

 

 

What Choices Do We Have to Make to Bring This Group Into Full Membership in the USA?

-There are already Jewish celebrities  -As is the case with many minority groups, a main point of bias can be found with religious roots. Judgements based on morals instead of religion are necessary. -Beware of politicians with a religious bias.

-Clearly antisemetic remarks by other celebrities such as Mel Gibson must be ignored.

 

Sources:• http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/judaism.ht

m 

• http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/21251/role-of-jews-in-labor-movement-past-and-present-visible-in-s-f-exhibit/ 

• http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1952_3_SpecialArticles.pdf • http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/labor-movement-in-united-states