Jewish Bialystok and Its Diaspora
The mass migration of East European Jews and their resettlement in citiesthroughout Europe, the United States, Argentina, the Middle East and Australia inthe late 19th and early 20th centuries not only transformed the demographic andcultural centers of world Jewry, it also reshaped Jews' understanding andperformance of their diasporic identities. Rebecca Kobrin's study of the dispersalof Jews from one city in Poland -- Bialystok -- demonstrates how the act ofmigration set in motion a wide range of transformations that led the migrants toimagine themselves as exiles not only from the mythic Land of Israel but mostimmediately from their east European homeland. Kobrin explores the organizations, institutions, newspapers, and philanthropies that the Bialystokers created aroundthe world and that reshaped their perceptions of exile and diaspora.