Why Jews Stayed in New York

Due to its geographic location, most of the Europeans that migrated to America ended up arriving in New York. Unless an immigrant had a predestined location inland, he or she settled in New York City in a community with people of the same origin. For the Jewish immigrants, New York provided an added advantage that all other groups did not enjoy; The existing Jewish community went to great lengths to welcome the newcomers, help them adapt, assimilate, and eventually succeed. Arriving Jews did not have to compromise their religious traditions, and furthermore, they enjoyed the already established infrastructure of Jewish daily life.

Social Advantages of New York City

The primary factor that enabled Jews to succeed in New York was the forming of homogeneous communities. From the Jewish community on Mill Street, to Kleindeutschland/The Lower East Side and Harlem, Jews formed their own unique communities in which they felt comfortable and free of anti-Semitism. As the Jewish population grew, the neighborhoods expanded and, for the most part, remained as solid wholes. The uniformity of the Jewish areas enabled the neighborhoods to become their own worlds in terms of language and culture. Thus, these communities were critical for the adaptation and assimilation of the immigrants because they allowed them to gradually adjust to American culture. Immigrants from Eastern Europe arriving to New York not knowing a word of English found this to be a minor problem because the main language of the Lower East Side was Yiddish. There were also newspapers in Yiddish and Yiddish theaters.

Several Yiddish weekly newspapers started in New York during the 1870's, and eventually a daily Yiddish newspaper began in 1885. The Yiddish Press served the Jewish community in many ways, as it helped to preserve the community's social structure and ethnicity, while at the same time serving as a force for social change. It provided immigrants with an opportunity to view themselves with different eyes. While Americans saw the immigrants as curiosities and social problems, the Jews saw themselves as struggling to adapt.1 Everyone who came to the Lower East Side had to become American, and Americanization involved discarding old values and accepting new ones. The culture of the shtetl represented the Old World, and so it had to be abandoned in order to adapt to the new environment. The Bintel Brief letters to the editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, another Yiddish newspaper, tried to raise the collective consciousness. These letters provided a vivid record of the trials and tribulations of adaptation from the immigrant point of view.

"People often need the opportunity to be able to pour out their heavy-laden hearts. Among our immigrant masses this need was very marked. Hundreds of thousands of people, torn from their homes and their dear ones, were lonely souls who thirsted for expression, who wanted to hear an opinion, who wanted advice in solving their weighty problems. The 'Bintel Brief' created just this opportunity for them."2
-Abraham Cahan, [Editor of The Jewish Daily Forward], 1929

For More on the Bintel Brief click on: The Amazing Bintel Brief

The Jewish Daily Forward, which was founded in 1897, addressed everyday problems faced by immigrant readers. It was a beacon for immigrant acculturation into American life, as it encouraged readers to learn English (even though it was published in Yiddish). It served to bridge two cultures: the native and future culture of an immigrant.

One of the cultural aspects that Eastern European immigrants carried over to New York was Yiddish Theater. The theater portrayed and satirized the lives, hopes and ambitions of the immigrants. A variety of theatrical companies produced plays in Yiddish, ranging from serious drama (including translations of Shakespeare) to light musical comedies. The immigrant Jews-the very young and the aged, workers and employers, the poor and the affluent-found in the theater entertainment, education, and an escape from the drudgery of their daily life.

Jewish Aid Societies formed as immigration from Europe increased. Landsmanschaften were composed of individuals who had come from the same community in the Old World, and were generally named after the place of birth or Old World home of the members. These aid societies became a fixed point for newcomers, as they could speak their own language at meetings and feel like individuals with personal histories, not just as immigrants struggling with the difficulties of a new language and making a living. These societies also served as clearing-houses for jobs and housing. They were places where one might raise money in an emergency; they helped immigrants find relatives and acquaintances; and they organized committees to call on the sick and bury the dead.

Social Aid in New York City

These Jewish Aid societies were critical as they provided a sort of welfare for the immigrants who chose to use them. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society [HIAS] began in 1889 under the influence and with the support of recent immigrant Eastern European Jews. It provided deprived Jewish immigrants with dormitory housing, a soup kitchen, and clothing. It also supported Jewish immigrants on Ellis Island, as it provided translation services, guides for medical screening, and legal advice for making entry easier. As the HIAS expanded and upgraded its infrastructure, it began providing religious services, education, and job training.

Social Aspects

Religous Aspects

Economical Aspects