One of the most astounding aftershocks of the collapse of the
Soviet Union was the massive immigration of Russian Jews to Israel.
Today, Russian speakers constitute one-sixth of Israel's total
population. No other country in the world has absorbed such a
prodigious number of immigrants in such a short period. The
implications of this phenomenon are immense both locally (given the
geopolitical situation in the Middle East) and globally (as
multicultural and multiethnic states become the rule rather than
the exception). For a growing number of immigrants worldwide, the
experience of living across different cultures, speaking different
languages, and accommodating different--and often
incompatible--identities is a daily reality. This reality is a
challenge to the scholar striving to understand the origin and
nature of cultural identity. Languages can be learned, economic
constraints overcome, social mores assimilated. But identity
persists through generations, setting immigrants and their children
apart from their adoptive country. The story of the former Russians
in Israel is an illuminating example of this global trend. The
Russian Jews who came to Israel were initially welcomed as prodigal
sons coming home. Their connection to their "historical motherland"
was seemingly cemented not only by their Jewish ethnicity, but also
by a potent Russian influence upon Zionism. The first Zionist
settlers in Palestine were mostly from Russia and Poland, and
Russian literature, music, and sensibility had had a profound
effect upon the emerging Hebrew culture. Thus, it seemed that while
facing the usual economic challenges of immigrations, the
"Russians," as they came to be known, would have littleproblem
acclimatizing in Israel. The reality has been quite different,
marked by mutual incomprehension and cultural mistranslation. While
achieving a prominent place in Israeli economy, the Russians in
Israel have faced discrimination and stereotyping. And their own
response to Israeli culture and society has largely been one of
rejection and disdain. If Israel has failed to integrate the
newcomers, the newcomers have shown little interest in being
integrated. Thus, the story of the post-Soviet Jews in Israel
illustrates a general phenomenon of cultural divergence, in which
history carves different identities out of common stock. Besides
marking a turning point in the development of Israel, it belongs to
the larger picture of the contemporary world, profoundly marked by
the collapse of the catastrophic utopias of Nazism and Communism.
And yet this story has not adequately been dealt with by the
academy. There have been relatively few studies of the Russian
immigration to Israel and none that situates the phenomenon in a
cultural, rather than purely sociological, context. Elana Gomel's
book, The Pilgrim Soul: Being Russian in Israel, is an original and
exciting investigation of the Russian community in Israel. It
analyzes the narratives through which Russian Jewry defines itself
and connects them to the legacy of Soviet history. It engages with
such key elements of the Russian-Israeli identity as the aversion
from organized religion, the challenge of bilingualism, the cult of
romantic passion, and even the singular fondness for science
fiction. It provides factual information on the social, economic,
and political situation of the Russians in Israel but relates the
data to an overallinterpretation of the community's cultural
history. At the same time, the book goes beyond the specificity of
its subject by focusing on the theoretical issues of identity
formation, historical trauma, and utopian disillusionment. The
Pilgrim Soul is an important book for all collections in cultural
studies, ethnic and immigrant studies, Israeli studies, and Soviet
studies. It will appeal to a variety of readers interested in the
issues of immigration, multiculturalism, and identity formation.
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