British responses to the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The word ‘pogrom’ is derived from the Russian word ‘погром.’ In Russia, the word pogrom was first used to describe the anti-Semitic attacks that followed the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. There was a second wave of pogroms in the early 20th century, between 1903 and 1906. Despite there being only two ‘waves’ of pogroms, there had been a culture of anti-Semitism existing for centuries.
Most, if not all of the pogroms took place within the Pale of Settlement. The Jews of Russia were forced to exist within the Pale of Settlement by the Russian authorities. The Pale was not, however, a safe haven for the Jews and they were harshly discriminated against—with the employment of double taxes and the denial of further education.
The pogroms aroused conflicting public reaction in Britain that was of both sympathy and apprehension. These anti-Jewish pogroms sparked much uncertainty for the Russian Jewish population and contributed to high levels of westbound migration from the country. Alongside America, Britain was a place of refuge, in particular major cities such as London, Liverpool, and Manchester. Much of the British public was disaffected by the inability of the Jews to assimilate into the society. Meanwhile, it became more difficult to get employed and this exacerbated the increasingly hostile British public opinion. Indeed, a great deal of the anti-Jewish sentiment developed amongst the trade union movements who were worried about this increasing difficulty to get employed. Despite migrating away from their Russian persecutors, the Russian Jews were still blamed for the ills in society, albeit a different society.
