A People in Flight: Displacement of Russian Jews and Third Wave Immigration to the United States
Abstract
The group of Jewish immigrants discussed in this SIP has been designated as the third wave of
Russian immigrants, a term which I will use to differentiate between the
three distinct groups of Russian immigrants that have made their way to the
United States since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The first wave
refers to the influx of Russian Jews to the United States sparked by the
Revolution of 1917. The second wave arrived after the Second World War,
approximately from 1945 to the early 1950s. And the third wave refers to the
large numbers of Jews that were able to leave after 1970. The third wave is
unique for several reasons, which I will discuss further later. The sections
will explore the migratory history of Jews in Russia; the specific history of the
emigration of the third wave; the particular struggles of the third wave,
including those struggles of their ambiguous collective identity, of their own
self-identity, and the challenge of finding a niche in the American job market.