Of Moses and Marx: Folk Ideology and Folk History in the Jewish Labor Movement

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The Jewish Labor Movement was a radical subculture that flourished within the trade union and political movements in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. Jewish immigrant activistssocialists, communists, anarchists, and labor Zionistsadapted aspects of the traditions with which they were raised in order to express the politics of social transformation. In doing so, they created a folk ideology which reflected their dual ethnic/class identity. This book explores that folk ideology, through an analysis of interviews with participants in the Jewish Labor Movement as well as through a survey of the voluminous literature written about that movement. A synthesis of political ideology and ethnic tradition was carefully crafted by secular working-class Jewish immigrant radicals who rediscovered and reformulated elements of Jewish traditions as vehicles for political organizing. Commonly held symbols of their cultural identitythe Yiddish language, rituals such as the Passover seder, remembered narratives of the Eastern European shtetl, and biblical imageryserved as powerful tools in forging political solidarity among fellow Jewish workers and activists within the Jewish Labor Movement.

Reviews

.,."Shuldiner has performed a significant service."-Labor History
...Shuldiner has performed a significant service.-Labor History
[B]oth veterans and students of the Yiddish left should find this book valuable.-Jewish Currents
Of Marx and Moses makes a solid thoeretical contribution to the study of the Jewish labor movement, sorting out the complex interactions between class and ethnicity, and between radical politics and ethno-religious backgound.-Studies in Contemporary Jewry
This volume represents an intriguing approach to the study of the Jewish labour movement in the USA and the explorations of its specific 'ethnic' identity and heritage....It chronicles and, more importantly, explores critically the role of cultural references in history, and provides ample scope for debate amongst Jewish scholars.-Journal of Jewish Studies
"Both veterans and students of the Yiddish left should find this book valuable."-Jewish Currents
..."Shuldiner has performed a significant service."-Labor History
"[B]oth veterans and students of the Yiddish left should find this book valuable."-Jewish Currents
"Of Marx and Moses makes a solid thoeretical contribution to the study of the Jewish labor movement, sorting out the complex interactions between class and ethnicity, and between radical politics and ethno-religious backgound."-Studies in Contemporary Jewry
"This volume represents an intriguing approach to the study of the Jewish labour movement in the USA and the explorations of its specific 'ethnic' identity and heritage....It chronicles and, more importantly, explores critically the role of cultural references in history, and provides ample scope for debate amongst Jewish scholars."-Journal of Jewish Studies

Author Bio

DAVID P. SHULDINER holds appointments as Humanities Program Coordinator with the State of Connecticut, Department of Social Services, Elderly Services Division, as Adjunct Faculty in the School of Family Studies, University of Connecticut, and in the Gerontology Program at St. Joseph College, and has taught folklore at Trinity College. He is co-editor of the Journal of Applied Folklore and the author of Aging Political Activists: Personal Narratives from the Old Left (Praeger, 1995) and Folklore, Culture, and Aging: A Research Guide (Greenwood, 1997).