Dreams of Nationhood

The American Jewish Communist movement played a major role in the politics of Jewish communities in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as in many other centers, between the 1920s and the 1950s. Making extensive use of Yiddish-language books, newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, and other materials, Dreams of Nationhood traces the ideological and material support provided to the Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan, located in the far east of the Soviet Union, by two American Jewish Communist-led organizations, the ICOR and the American Birobidzhan Committee. By providing a detailed historical examination of the political work of these two groups, the book makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of twentieth-century Jewish life in the United States. Inhaltsverzeichnis Abbreviations. List of Illustrations. Introduction: American Jews, Communism, the ICOR and Birobidzhan. The Formation of Ambijan. The "People's Delegation" and the Popular Front, 1935-1939. Wartime Aid to the Soviet Union: the ICOR. Wartime Aid to the Soviet Union: Ambijan. the Postwar Orphans' Campaign and the Ambijan-ICOR Merger. The Glory Years, 1946-1948. Ambijan and the Creation of Israel. The Gathering Storm: McCarthyism, Cold War, and Decline. Islands of Resistance, 1949-1950. Conclusion: From Hope to Hoax. Appendix: Paul Novick's 1936 Visit to the Jewish Autonomous Region. Appendix: George Koval. Selected Bibliography. Index.