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For centuries the Jews had suffered under these restrictions, but
in the late 19th century they decided to end such discrimination and
reshape the whole society. They joined movements to overturn the regime.
Jews after the 1917 Russian revolution were appointed to some of the
country’s most sensitive positions.
Over the next few years Jews were involved in almost all aspects of the
revolutionary regime. There was Leon Trotsky (Bronshtein) who served the
equivalent of the Minister of Defense, there was Maxim Litvinov (Isser
Meir Wallach) equivalent of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Genrikh
Yagda, head of the secret police. Even Lenin might have had a Jewish
grandparent.
Emigration from Russia began by 1914. One million-eighty thousand
emigrated to the United States. Earlier in 1893 the Jews from Bukhara had
founded a settlement in Jerusalem and by 1900 it included 180 houses, two
synagogues and two schools. Over 60,000 Jews entered Palestine, mostly
from Russia. They sought a new home living under Turkish rule. Many
settled on wastelands, sand-dunes, draining the malaria marshes, building
irrigation for farming. Russian born Jews played a leading part in the
country’s political, economic and cultural life. The first four
presidents and the first four prime ministers were all Russian born. David
Ben -Gurion, Golda Meir, Chaim Weizman, Zalman Shazar, Moshe Sharett, Levi
Eshkol, Menachem Begin, Ephraim Katz. In 1960 of the 73 members of
Knesset, 52 gave their birthplace as Tsarist Russia. |
