The politics of nonassimilation : the American Jewish left in the twentieth century / David R. Verbeeten.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Verbeeten, David Randall, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bittelman, Alex, 1890-1982.

Bittelman, Alex.

American Jewish Congress.

New Jewish Agenda (Organization).

Jews, East European--United States--History--20th century.

Jews, East European.

Jews, East European--Cultural assimilation--United States.

Immigrants--United States.

Immigrants.

Assimilation (Sociology).

History.

United States.

United States--Ethnic relations.

Ethnic relations.

Physical Description:

229 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

DeKalb : Northern Illinois University Press, [2017]

Summary:

Over the course of the twentieth century, Eastern European Jews in the United States developed a left-wing political tradition. Their political preferences went against a fairly broad correlation between upward mobility and increased conservatism or Republican partisanship. Many scholars have sought to explain this phenomenon by invoicing antisemitism, an early working-class experience, or a desire to integrate into a universal social order. This original study instead focuses on the ways in which left-wing ideologies and movements helped to mediate and preserve Jewish identity in the context of modern tendencies toward bourgeois assimilation and ethnic dissolution. David Verbeeten pursues this line of inquiry through case studies that highlight the political activities and aspirations of three "generations" of American Jews. Verbeeten examines the first generation through the life of Alexander Bittelman, a founder of the American Communist Party after World War I. He explores the second generation by way of the American Jewish Congress, which launched campaigns against discrimination within civil society before, during, and after World War II. Finally, he considers the third generation in relation to the activist group New Jewish Agenda, which operated from 1980 to 1992 and was known for its advocacy of progressive causes and its criticism of particular Israeli governments and policies. By focusing on individuals and organizations that have not previously been subjects of extensive investigation, Verbeeten contributes original research to the fields of American, Jewish, intellectual, and radical history. Book jacket.

Contents:

Alexander Bittelman, the Communist party and the first generation

The American Jewish Congress and the second generation

New Jewish Agenda and the third generation.

Notes:

Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Cambridge, 2012.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Verbeeten, David Randall. Politics of non-assimilation.

ISBN:

9780875807539

0875807534

OCLC:

948878737