Cultures of Opposition: Jewish Immigrant Workers, New York City, 1881-1905

Looks at the forging of a new Jewish political culture at the turn of the century.

2001 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

This work provides a reinterpretation of the origins of Jewish working-class oppositional culture in the United States. It tells how this culture was characterized by public practices such as strikes, attacks on scabs and police, rent strikes, consumer boycotts, and street parades. The participants in this social unrest ultimately forged an unmistakably new Jewish political culture informed by concepts of social justice, community solidarity and effective community-wide political participation. Enhancing Kosak's fascinating narrative are eleven period photographs.