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Radical Roots

Why the Yiddish workers’ movement was an American phenomenon

by
Sara Ivry
March 14, 2006

We tend to think that Yiddish-speaking socialists brought their politics with them when they emigrated to the United States at the turn of the last century. But in A Fire in Their Hearts, Tony Michels argues we’re wrong. The Yiddish worker’s movement that came into being on the Lower East Side was a distinctly American phenomenon, argues Michels, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And its impact lasted well into the 20th century, even if it’s infrequently mentioned in today’s history books.

Illustration: N. Kozlovsky, “Russian Jewish Workers on a Tenement Rooftop,” from A Fire in Their Hearts, courtesy Workmen’s Circle.

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Sara Ivry is the host of Vox Tablet, Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast. Follow her on Twitter @saraivry.

Sara Ivry is the host of Vox Tablet, Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast. Follow her on Twitter@saraivry.