Period+9+Jewish



= = = Who Were These People? = There were approximately 150,000 Jews living in the United States at the outbreak of the Civil War. The majority of these were German, Polish, and Romanian due to many of the Eastern European Jews being averse to immigration, fearing it would destroy their culture. However, in the year 1880 the pogroms began in the Russian Empire, which forced the annual Jewish immigration to grow from about 4,000 to 20,000, increasing the overall Jewish population in America to two million by 1924. Many of these Jews took up work in the textile industry because of their backgrounds in Europe where they were often denied other career opportunities. The Orthodox and educated Jews were initially against immigration, especially the Orthodox, who felt their customs would not be accepted in America.

= Why Did the Jews Immigrate? =
 * ** Early Jewish immigration was pre-Revolutionary because America was a land without religious persecution, but even so, migration did not occur in large numbers. It was not until the pogroms or anti-Jewish riots forced a massive emigre from the Russian Empire. The pogroms were government and military condoned assaults on the Jews in response to the death or Tsar Alexander II, which his son attributed to the Russian Jew population. This forced initially unwilling immigrant to harbor in the havens of America and England, where they could escape persecution. They were an easy target because they had refused to assimilate to many of the other surrounding cultures, and were thus, cast out of cities they had finally gained acceptance in during the beginning of the 19th Century.



= The Influence of Judaism on the Contemporary World = =Although it may not seem apparent to the vast majority who are not familar with the Hebrew faith, Judaism has influenced modern civilization in a variety of ways:=
 * Western Literature oftens includes references and alludes to the Hebrew bible and the Ten commandments, both of which were founded by the Jews.
 * Sunday is considered a day of rest in most countries around the world, in which people take a break from the stress of the work week, Judaism was the first religon to produce the idea of a day of rest.
 * Monogamy, the idea of a man only being wed to one wife was started by the Jewish people before the birth of Jesus. From their it spread around the world, and is adhered to is most civilized societies today.
 * Judaism has a peculiar relationship with the United States that gurantees its safety. The U.S. President pledged to keep Israel militarily secured as of 1949.
 * The head figure of the Christian savior, Jesus, was Jewish and many of the believes that he carries in the bible, are Jewish, and mimicked by Christians around the world.
 * Many of the laws that govern democratic countries around the world are based off of the ten commandments that the founders of Judaism created.
 * The Jews were the first to declare that all in their religon should be educated, this is obviously reflected in today's society.
 * Judaism has carefully maintained the rights of their women throughout history, inspiring other cultures to do the same.
 * Western society does not eat what is contained in the Jewish kosher laws.

Although less than 1% of the population of the world today, Judaism clearly has a large impact on the contemporary world.

= The Influence of Jewish Immigration On Pittsburgh =

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Most people who imagine the creation of Pittsburgh tend to leave out of their images a huge driving force on its development. The Jewish community has had a huge part in the building of Pittsburgh and has left its mark. Probably the most widely known Jewish feature in Pittsburgh is Squirrel Hill, a district in town that has maintained its tradition for decades. (See photo to the right.) However, Jewish history in Pittsburgh extends even before Squirrel Hill's development. ======

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The Jewish demographic in Pittsburgh after World War I developed rapidly. Its private education system was one of the best in the state and most Jewish in the city were second generation, or native American Jews. The shop-keeping of the first-generation Jewish immigrants escalated by the next generation into prosperous department stores, such as Kaufmann's and Rosenbaum's. These names gained a positive reputation and the Jewish community gained a name for itself in Pittsburgh, a city hit with a wave of struggling immigrants early on. ======

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For a period between 1925 and 1939, there was an anti-immigration sentiment in America that led to a temporary cease in Polish-Jewish immigration. However, there was a surge in Jewish immigration to American after the Nazi crisis in 1939, leaving Pittsburgh as a main destination for these refugees due to its deeply rooted Jewish history. Pittsburgh grew to have one of the largest Zionist movements in the country and even created the United Jewish Fund in 1946 to help the German Jewry in need. Eventually, almost the entire Jewish population inhabited Squirrel Hill, and there it thrived until the 1970's when many relocated to the suburbs. ======

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Jewish people have also had an impact on the arts, sciences, and business. As a matter of fact, five Jewish family founded Giant Eagle® ﻿groceries together, today a chain exclusive to Pittsburgh locations. ======

The Jewish Perspective
The Jewish people were subjected to horrible persecution and were accustomed to the social injustices of Russia during the 19th century. They trusted the idea of the American dream and desired to escape their current situation. After immigrating to America many of the Jewish people found a safe, close-knit community in Pittsburgh. To them, Pittsburgh gave them the opportunity to practice their faith. Furthermore, the city gave them hope of a better future: a place to raise their children and settle down. Although the living situations were not perfect, they were still pleased that they were far away from the hatred that they left in Europe. The combination of factors helped spur the growth of the Pittsburgh Jewish population to 60,000 in 1924, which in turn, continued to strengthen the community in the city. The immigrants had opportunities to create a better economic situation for themselves. The steel industry was alive and growing following the Civil War and will continue to be the backbone of the Pittsburgh economy into the mid-1900s. The success of the steel industry allowed many of the Jews to fulfill their aspirations in the New World.

//Gertrude Stein //. Photograph. New York. Golden, Mr., and Professor Sarna. "The American Jewish Experience through the Nineteenth Century: Immigration AndAcculturation, The Nineteenth Century, Divining America: Religion in American History, TeacherServe, National Humanities Center." //National Humanities Center - Welcome to the National Humanities Center//. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.

//Jewish Victims //. 1900. Photograph. Taylor, M. "Jewish History of Pittsburgh, PA." //JewishGen ShtetLinks//. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.

"Jewish History of Pittsburgh, PA." //JewishGen ShtetLinks. // JewishGen, Inc. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.

"Take Me to Kaufmann's: The Big Store." //Pittsburgh Magazine.// WiesnerMedia. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.