Jews and Judaism in World History

The mass exodus of Jews from the lands of the recently defunct Soviet Union
set the stage for world Jewry to face the twenty-first century. This migration
of more than 1 million Jews, coupled with the capitalist tendencies of the
State of Israel since the 1980s, underscored the decline of socialism as a lead-
ing Jewish political ideology. As the twentieth century ended, America and
Israel were the only major centers of world Jewry. Indeed, although smaller
numbers of Russian Jewish émigrés settled in Germany, Austria, and
Hungary, the choice essentially came down to Israel or America.
That choice involved more than choosing a new address. As with previous
migration movements, it reflected a larger decision between two fundamen-
tally different situations, political strategies, and ranges of possibilities. The
State of Israel embodied Jewish sovereignty – life as part of the ethnic and
religious majority; the United States offered Jews the latest installment of
living as an ethnic and religious minority.
In a sense, this was not a new decision for Jews, but echoed a centuries-old
dichotomy in Jewish history between homeland and diaspora that dated back
to the sixth century B.C.E. From the moment that the majority of Jews in
ancient Babylonia opted to remain in the diaspora under foreign rule rather
than returning to rebuild the Land of Israel, Jewish life in the diaspora
became a viable option for many (and for long stretches of time, most) Jews in
the world. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, this dichotomy is as
much a part of Jewish life as it was more than two millennia ago.
The decision represented not simply a difference in address, but a decisive
element in the formation and development of Jewish identity. Israeli identity
is defined in terms of residence and citizenship in a Jewish state, and in living
immersed in the only mainstream culture in the world that is Jewish culture.
In America and elsewhere in the diaspora, Jewishness is often peculiarly
defined officially in religious terms – peculiarly because only a minority of
diaspora Jews are religiously observant. In fact, most diaspora Jews define
themselves ethnically, not religiously.
The ongoing choice between homeland and diaspora, moreover, reflects a
broader understanding of the Jewish past and its implication for the future of

Conclusion: world Jewry faces the twenty-first century