Comparison of Russian Jewish and Mexican Immigration to the U.S

Can the Immigration Stories of Two Distinct Cultures Overlap?

The Jews of Russia and Eastern Europe began their migration to American during the 1880s.  The Russian Jews were a persecuted ethnic minority and were forced to live in an area known as the Pale of Settlement, a treacherous region between the Baltic and Black Sea.  The soil was sandy and the climate was dry, so it was impossible to make a living by farming.  Furthermore, the Jews were prohibited from owning land, so they lived in urban areas where they worked as merchants and craftspeople.  Family was very important.  Studying Judaism was an honor and the most revered individual was the father, who read and taught the holy works.  If the husband was a holy man, he did this all the time and did not work outside the home.  It was the woman’s responsibility to work outside the home.  When the sewing machine was introduced to the Russian Jewish communities, many Russian Jewish women were able to stay at home, sew, and make money selling clothes.

Life in the Pale was filled with paranoia because of the anti-Jewish violence and the dreaded pogroms.  As a result of the pogroms, large numbers of Jews were massacred and many shops, homes, and places of worship were destroyed.  In 1881, Czar Alexander II was assassinated and the blame fell on Russian Jewish men.  The Jews realized that Russia was not a safe home for them, so they immigrated to America in search of freedom and a better life.

After a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the Russian Jews arrived at Ellis Island, the immigration center of America.  The majority of the Russian Jewish immigrants were educated and literate.  Although the Jews were poor, they were the most skilled immigrant group to arrive in the United States.  Approximately 66% of all Russian-Jewish immigrants could list skills.  Also, the Russian Jews came to the United States as settlers.  Unlike most other European groups and some Asian groups, they planned to stay in America.  Almost half of the Russian-Jewish immigrants were women.  Children accounted for 25% of the Jewish immigrants.