Experiences of Jewish immigrants Flashcards
Education
After WW1 many Jewish immigrants had the funds to attend university, and many became doctors and lawyers. This explains the Jewish experience as these jobs then meant they could support themselves, and they were liked by Scots as helpful members of society.
Poverty
Many Jewish immigrants came to Scotland to escape pogroms. Due to the nature of their emigration, they often arrived in Scotland with little funds. This explains the Jewish experience as this meant that initially, many Jewish immigrants struggled with poverty.
Religion
In the early 1800s, few Jews were living in Scotland, so there was generally a lack of synagogues and rabbis. This explains the Jewish experience as it initially made it very difficult for Jewish immigrants to maintain their faith.
Langauge
Many Jews would speak Yiddish within their communities and even produced newspapers, such as ‘The Jewish Voice’ which was written in Yiddish. This explains the Jewish experience, as by continuing to speak Yiddish, Jewish communities could maintain their identities and culture.
Numbers
By the 1930s there were only roughly 10,000 Jewish immigrants in Scotland, most of whom lived in Glasgow is areas such as the Gorbels, an impoverished area. This explains the Jewish experience, as their limited numbers prevented Scots from being intimidated by their migration, so they were able to maintain relatively positive relations.
Businesses
Many Jewish immigrants started their own businesses selling tobacco or furniture, some also opened their own bakeries. This explains the Jewish experience as many of these businesses were successful and allowed for them to escape poverty and be liked by Scots as they were not seen to be stealing jobs.
Working conditions
Many Jews worked in industries such as tailoring, which offered low pay and demanded long hours making clothes. This explains the Jewish experience, as the low pay of jobs such as this made it difficult for many Jewish immigrants to escape poverty.
Housing
Due to their poverty levels, they were often forced to live in poor housing conditions in places like the Gorbels area as the rent was cheaper, but it was often overcrowded and had poor sanitation. This explains the Jewish experience, as this often led to poor health.
Jewish groups
Jewish organisations provided financial support to newly arrived Jewish immigrants. This explains the Jewish experience, as this meant that they were not seen as a drain on local welfare funds by Scots, and so were generally not disliked too much by lower classes.
