Jewish Socialists in the United States: The Cahan Debate, 1925-1926

by Jacob Goldstein, Abraham Cahan

In 1925 Abe (Abraham) Cahan, the strong and influential editor of the most important Jewish newspaper, Forward, and an outstanding leader of the Jewish Labor movement in the United States, visited Palestine in order to come to terms with the problem of Jewish mass migration from East Europe. During and following his trip Cahan published his impressions about the Jewish National Home. His publications stirred a public debate, which lasted almost a year between the supporters and Bundist anagonists to Palestine. The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 describes the situation in the 1920's and the peculiar immigration triangle that existed between East Europe, the United States, and Palestine with respect to the tensions between differing ideologies in the context of Jewish identity and striving in the different cultures. Part II is a translation from Yiddish of the important elements of the debate between the two opposing parts of the Jewish labour movement: those who supported the Zionist ideal and its potential in palestine, and those who adopted a hostile attitude.

259 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998