Sam H. Zucker

Diaspora Nation: Jewish Spiritual Nationalism as a Response to Russian Pogroms

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the broad changes across Jewish communities during the turn of the 20th century. While most of these changes were catalyzed by the pogroms in the Russian Empire, these changes covered a wide area of Jewish life, from communities in Russia, to the mass Jewish immigration to the United States, to the rise of the Zionist movement. This paper proposes that despite this variety, many of these developments were rooted in the idea of Spiritual Nationalism. This is a theory of Jewish nationalism that states that the Jewish people in their totality compose a national entity, regardless of geopolitical boundaries. Spiritual Nationalism was created under the specific material conditions of Russian Jewish intellectuals, but this paper shows the profound effect that it had on Jewish politics. By exploring ideological underpinnings of the initiatives, organizations, and activists of this era, the widespread diffusion of Spiritual Nationalism across the Jewish world becomes clear. In addition, this paper shows how Spiritual Nationalism influenced the nature of Jewish activism, as it became more personal and community-oriented work. Ultimately this paper concludes that Spiritual Nationalism is one of the most influential ideologies to emerge in the wake of the pogroms.

Thesis Advisor: B. Miller