Just Curious

Soviet Zion

This is something I mentioned to my friend Rachel a long while ago, although I think it's a topic interesting enough for me to post:

There was once a far and remote dream shared by a handful of socialist intellectuals in the turn-of-the-century, the dream of young women and men whom I would call the alternative-Zionists.

Here is the link: http://birobidzhan.swarthmore.edu/

For these people, Rosa Luxumburg, Leon Trotsky and most leaders of the Second International included, it was unrealistic to establish a homeland for *all* Jewish peoples since the Diaspora has already created such linguistic and cultural differences amongst them that they had eventually developed into different ethnic groups (Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Yemeni, Ethiopian, or even Chinese Kai-Feng, etc.) If one were to include them all in one nation-state, that state would inevitable bear a religious character, which is, of course, repugnant to the progressive conscience. The alternative solution would be a homeland for Yiddish speaking Ashkenazy Jews of Eastern European origins.

Strangely enough, although the Constitution of such an alternative Zion was drafted by the Soviet government in mid-20s, the plan was executed in 1934 by Josef Stalin, and a Jewish Republic was established in the Far East.

This was a heroic failure, and although the republic still exists even until today (call the Jewish Autonomous Republic of the Russian Federation, the Jewish population there accounts only for 2% of the entire "Jewish" republic. Nevertheless, the official language, etc. of this republic is still Yiddish, and Yiddish newspapers are still published.

posted by James Chang @ 3:11 PM