The State Department just published a 51 page report detailing over a century's worth of Russia's exploitation of antisemitism as a tactic to spread disinformation and propaganda

A standard Western liberal account of the Soviet Jewish experience has asserted its validity, in part, on emigrants’ own stories, many of which were initially collected by Israeli and American Jewish organizations with a vested interest in simplistic victim narratives (in the American case, these interviews also helped would-be émigrés secure refugee status). This narrative portrayed Jews in the late Soviet period, and Soviet citizens in general, as suffering under the tyrannical rule of the state, and depicted emigration—most often to Israel or the United States—as a journey from bondage to freedom often analogized to the biblical exodus from Egypt. But many emigrants’ stories do not fit this mold, and those that do not have been stricken from the record. For Yona, this happened quite literally. A group of former refuseniks invited him to talk at one of their regular meetings about his experience of being a Jew in and out of the Soviet Union. He accepted the invitation and told his story. “They never invited me again,” he said. In the course of my research, I discovered the extent to which Soviet Jewish emigrants depart from the standard “exodus” narrative of their experience when they are given the space. I also found patterns that emerged in this narrative’s place. Like Yona, many of the people I talked to recounted transformative experiences of Jewish education, ritual, and community: seminars on the Hebrew language and sacred texts, lectures in Jewish history and ethnography, the production of samizdat (unofficial magazines not censored by the state), and the celebration of Shabbat and Jewish holidays. These invigorating experiences took place within the borders of the Soviet Union rather than beyond them, a narrative at odds with a vision of the Soviet system uniformly hostile to Jewish expression. Arguably, in fact, such experiences were part and parcel of the Soviet system itself, thanks to a number of ideological, economic, and cultural realities of state socialism. The Jewish activity that developed in the big Soviet cities in the 1970s and ’80s drew on the basic Soviet values of erudition and education that were supported by state provision for basic needs. It was not abnormal in the USSR for some members of the intelligentsia to take decently paid, low-qualification jobs to free up time to pursue intellectual passions, for instance, and for some, this created even more space for Jewish study and the development of varied expressions of Jewish identity.

A roundtable discussion with Jews from the former Soviet Union about their experience as immigrants, where they fit into the American Jewish community, how they view rising antisemitism after Oct. 7, and which customs and recipes they’re passing down to the next generation

We think that it’s worth noting that the Soviet Union actually preserved the Yiddish language.

Whilst it’s true that Jewish life under the Soviet Union was far from perfect, and thus eligible to be critiqued — the diasporic Yiddish language would NOT have survived the Holocaust if it weren’t for the USSR’s support. There was a Yiddish language magazine called “Sovietish Haimland”, from 1961, which published Jewish art, which was particularly encircling Jewish culture. It also carried Yiddish lessons in a serialized textbook. 100s of Yiddish established writers contributed to this magazine. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this magazine no longer recieved that same state support and came to an end.

Again, we cannot act like the Soviet Union were perfect. The USSR was far from it. it is there that we can see where to learn from, where to do better. Communists look at history to learn from it; we see where mistakes were made even by our forefathers that tried to implement revolutionary reforms.

But the USSR actively combatted the Nazi’s attempts to systemically destroy the Yiddish language— and that is noteworthy.

This is from “Soviet but Not Russian: The ‘Other Peoples of the Soviet Union” by William Mandel. We are working on getting this PDF resource in our Drive, along with a Soviet Union section, if people would like to read it themselves.

We must look at our history, especially at our Communist forefathers, and assess what we need to work on as a society to truly liberate everyone from the tyranny of Capitalism. Looking to the Soviet Union, we can see many examples of great progress made as much as we can see great losses.

wild that "tankie" doesn't at least have the instant derision that "Zionist" has on this website

as long as you choose to never actually express your stance on Israel (though I can guess what it is seeing that you're an American Jew) I don't take you seriously

hurriedly running after people talking about a certain issue, what do you think of this other issue on the other side of the world? interrogating reporters covering burma, i've noticed you haven't said a word about massacres in ethiopia. getting kicked out from assuredly guilt-ridden revisionist academic panels on the mediterranean migration crisis for demanding their stance on what's happening in kashmir. you have the attention span of a flea, the self-satisfaction of a leech, and the endearing presence of both

to be clear, I'm a long-time follower, I'm sorry that people are being weird on your innocent post, and I don't think anything that comes from USSR and Russia should be treated with no respect at all... but USSR is kind of like Nazi Germany. The analogy makes a lot of sense. Especially for Eastern and Central Europeans who were caught between the two during WWII.

they have similarities but I really dont think they should be treated as equal

Do I or do I not want to make Tom Kazansky a Soviet immigrant

The hardest lesson you will learn if you are interested in learning about Nazi Germany: so may people posting content about it are actual Nazis

No seriously if anyone is starting to get into WWII/Third Reich history, it is so easy to be indoctrinated because the main message a lot of Nazis spit now is that Hitler was bad and the SS were bad, but everyone else was chill.

And it’s hard to realize the narrative they’re spitting is wrong unless you know a lot going into it.

I have been watching a dude called “TIKhistory” the last few days on youtube and something felt off about his takes, but a lot of them had at least some plausible deniability and enough factual information that I thought it was still worthwhile.

I just start watching another video from this dude with the title “The REAL Reason why Hitler HAD to start WW2” which is an insane title and caught my attention. And then my answer was given by the first five mins of his video when I realized this dude was, at the least, a wehraboo, and at most, an actual Nazi.

Pretty much any non-Nazi historian agrees that Hitler started WWII because 1) he wanted to conquer Europe 2) he wanted “Lebensraum,” aka living space for “Aryans.” Where German people, with no Jewish or Roma people present, can have ample space to live.

You know why most non-Nazi historians agree on this? Because Hitler fucking said this. In his literal book. That everyone read.

WWII was declared by the Allies when Germany invaded Poland for LeBeNsRaUm. Yes, Germany never wanted to fight Britain. You know why? 1) they were white enough 2) a fucking ocean kept them apart. They wanted all of Europe + Soviet Union. That is why WWII started.

See how quick it was to get to that point? Fucking TIKhistory’s video is forty five minutes long. That’ll happen when your point is horeshit and also not true.

Hitler started WWII. All of the generals and higher ups at least knew of the Holocaust and most perpetrated their own massacres for shits and giggles. The Nazi army wasn’t really that great, they just knew how to play the cards in the circumstances they were in (they used horses a fuck ton. You don’t see it because a lot of documentaries use footage from Nazi propaganda in which they weren’t recorded). These are all basic facts for non-Nazis. So warning that if anyone you meet challenges those three facts, they probably are a Nazi

According to uncovered Soviet government documents, presented by Lithuanian Jew, professor and educator Misha Yakob, Soviets/russians were planning a new wave of exiles aimed directly at remaining Lithuanian Jews in 1953.

Lithuania had a huge pre-WW2 Jewish community due to lack of persecutions that they faced elsewhere, such as russian Pogroms. Nazis murdered most of them, then half or more of the survivors, such as Abba Kovner, moved to Israel post-war. But few that remained did not find peace as long as Stalin was alive, facing deadly deportations to Siberian camps.

Another wave of deportations, planned in 1953, was supposed to trim those numbers to a near zero, cattle wagons stood in Naujoji Vilnia train station waiting to be filled with people.

And then Stalin died. So nothing came of it.

So, next time you claim that Soviets are "better", "not anti-semitic", next time you call Stalin "daddy" please know that you're no better than nazis and kindly go f yourself.

"I asked dozens of them, young and old alike, “Who is a Jew? What is Judaism? What makes you a Jew?” They shrugged their shoulders. The questions do not interest them. There is a time to philosophize, a time to accept the commandments of Judaism as a revelation from Sinai, and a time to ask questions. They are Jews, and that is that; the rest is unimportant. A Jew is one who feels himself a Jew."

__________

The Jews of Silence: A Personal Report on Soviet Jewry by Elie Wiesel

Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP remember my tag about how this whole ~affair was just. So palpably Jewish to me even if it was not necessarily legible as such by means of any marked or notable signifiers, it was just this overwhelming Vibe? Well the cookies Agnes baked for her class when her grad student was like "I'm in love with you" during office hours and she reciprocated? RUGELACH, BABY

The Greatest Generation would be so heart broken to see that the American youth is now promoting the very thought and propaganda that they fought and gave their lives to keep OUT of America.

Back when I was studying World War II in high school I never would’ve dreamed that my beloved United States would be embracing and pushing the same exact propaganda as the Third Reich.

Had we lived in Nazi Germany many of you would’ve sold out the Jews and the Christians who stood up to Hitler and it shows.

what's up with the lost generation?

antisemitic microaggressions are so funny bc to be a Good Jew you have to categorically condemn israel and insist it shouldn't exist but also agree that people have a Right to hate jews in the diaspora and make them (us) feel unsafe Because Israel Exists, like the fastest way to drum up support for Israel isn't antisemitic hate crimes in the diaspora making it unsafe for us to live here.

but of course acknowledging that would mean acknowledging jews aren't privileged and don't run the world so they just pretend they don't see it and scream "YOU CAN BE ANTIZIONIST WITHOUT BEING ANTISEMITIC" like yeah it's possible but you clearly can't manage it.