A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews

The 74th National Jewish Book Award winner, American Jewish Studies, celebrates 350 years of Jewish American history. A Cold War Exodus reveals the mass mobilization tactics that helped free Soviet Jews and reshaped the Jewish American experience from the Johnson era through the Reagan-Bush years. Social movement activists enlisted various elements into the most effective human rights campaign of the Cold War, including Ingrid Bergman, Passover matzoh, Banana Republic®, the fitness craze, the Philadelphia Flyers, B-grade spy movies, and ten thousand Bar and Bat Mitzvah sermons. Shaul Kelner offers a compelling tale of activism and its profound impact, revealing how a seemingly disparate array of elements could be woven together to forge a movement and achieve the seemingly impossible.

Format: Hardback
Length: 456 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2024
Publisher: New York University Press

The 74th National Jewish Book Award was presented to American Jewish Studies for their book, "A Cold War Exodus: The Mass Mobilization Tactics That Helped Free Soviet Jews and Reshaped the Jewish American Experience from the Johnson Era through the Reagan-Bush Years." This award recognizes the significant impact of social movement activists in the United States during the Cold War era. The book reveals the mass mobilization tactics that were used to free Soviet Jews and reshape the Jewish American experience. These tactics included the use of popular culture, such as Ingrid Bergman, Passover matzoh, Banana Republic®, the fitness craze, the Philadelphia Flyers, B-grade spy movies, and ten thousand Bar and Bat Mitzvah sermons. The plight of Jews in the USSR was marked by systemic antisemitism, which was largely ignored by Western policymakers trying to improve relations with the Soviets. In the face of governmental apathy, activists in the United States devised a bold plan to unite Jewish Americans and demand that Washington exert pressure on Moscow for change. The book delves into the gripping narrative of how these men and women, through ingenuity and determination, devised mass mobilization tactics during a three-decade-long campaign to liberate Soviet Jews. The author, Shaul Kelner, draws from a wealth of archival sources, including the travelogues of thousands of American tourists who smuggled aid to Russian Jews, to offer a compelling tale of activism and its profound impact. The book reveals how a seemingly disparate array of elements could be woven together to forge a movement and achieve the seemingly impossible. It is a testament to the power of unity, creativity, and the unwavering dedication of those who believe in the cause of human rights.

Weight: 826g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479879397