Rethinking Kishinev: How a Riot Changed 20th Century Jewish History
This program was part of the YIVO-Bard Winter Program on Ashkenazi Civilization, January 6-23, 2014.
Kishinev's 1903 pogrom was the first event in Russian Jewish life to receive international attention. The riot, leaving 49 dead in an obscure border town, dominated the headlines of the western press for weeks, intruded on US-Russian relations, and impacted an astonishing array of institutions: the nascent Jewish army in Palestine, the NAACP, and most likely the first version of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Why did it have such impact, and why did it become a prism through which Russian Jewish history has been defined?
About the Speaker
Steven Zipperstein, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History at Stanford University, is the author of several acclaimed books, including The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794-1881 (Stanford University Press, 1985), Imagining Russian Jewry: Memory, History, Identity (University of Washington Press, 1999) and Elusive Prophet: Ahad Ha'am and the Origins of Zionism (University of California, 1993). For sixteen years, between 1991-2007, Dr. Zipperstein was Director of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford which emerged as one of the leading programs in the field under his leadership. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Koret Award for contributions to American Jewish life.
Dr. Steven Zipperstein was the inaugural Jacob Kronhill Visiting Scholar in History at YIVO for the Spring 2014 semester.