Jewish Settlement from Tsarist Russia into Dominican Republic

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Deleted member 67076

One of the smaller and fascinating tidbits I've found out while reading about Gregorio Luperon is his correspondents with various European figures and his attempts to help out foreign communities abroad.

In 1862 he dispatched letters to Tsar Alexander II in Russia offering settlement to Jewish citizens in the Dominican Republic in response to hearing of pogroms in the empire. The Tsar apparently received the letter and responded, but nothing came of it due to the Dominican Restoration War.

In 1881, Luperon tried again after hearing another round of pogroms prompted him to try again. He reached out to Alexander II, and additionally to Barons Rothschild and Charles Netter of the Alliance Israelite Universale on the question of resettlement of Russian Jews into the country. The latter two responded warmly (and again, apparently Alexander II responded back but I have no idea as to how he felt) and were considering the idea, but upon Alexander's assassination in 1881 and Netter's death in 1882 the AIU stopped responding.

Suppose Netter's death is delayed by a couple of years (he was in his 50s when he died, it should be somewhat plausible I suppose) and correspondence continues enough to entertain the idea. The financial assets are there, and for once the Dominican Republic is stable- undergoing its first sugar boom after independence under the political dictatorship of Ulises Heureaux- and eager for manpower.

How would settlement have gone? And should Alexander II's death have been prevented, would Russia give official sanction to this? If not, and the May Laws of 1882 are still a thing and the AIU, alongside other Zionist organizations, now have another area.

The First Aliyah to my knowledge has barely taken off, and so its not like there's a chain of migration established yet in Palestine. Additionally, given that many in the First Aliyah were political radicals and activists, they'd be right at home among the liberals of Santo Domingo and Santiago, where the Liberal Blue Party was finally ascendent.
 
Depends on how many they resettle. My natural guess would be the Cibao región, where Trujillo, despite all his flaws, resettled Jews in OTL Sosua. As for effects, depends on how many are resettled. OTL they resettled 700 European Jews. And hailing from Sosua myself, the Jewish influence, besides the past monopoly they had on the local bread industry and a couple synagogues, is minimal due to tourism and an influx of economic migrants from the southern part of the country.

At most, I could see 2000 Russian Jews resettled. The government would provide them land and cattle, so as in OTL, I'd expect them to gain a profit in the cheese and bread industry. They would survive longer than the Jews in OTL, due to them being longer grounded in the area.

We might see intermixing between the rural campesinos and the Jews. The fact they speak Russian could be very intresting linguistically. Russian loanwords could be a part of everyday slang. A genre of music that incorporates bachata and klezmer music would be interesting. Expect a bigger distinción between Sosuan culture and the Capitaleño culture from the South.

I have to admit, a Jewish-Latino hybrid culture that speaks Spanish with Russian loanwords tickles my fancy.
 
We might see intermixing between the rural campesinos and the Jews. The fact they speak Russian could be very intresting linguistically. Russian loanwords could be a part of everyday slang. A genre of music that incorporates bachata and klezmer music would be interesting. Expect a bigger distinción between Sosuan culture and the Capitaleño culture from the South.

I have to admit, a Jewish-Latino hybrid culture that speaks Spanish with Russian loanwords tickles my fancy.

Except that any Jews from the Pale of Settlement in this era are likely to be speaking Yiddish as a home language, with Russian only as a second or third language. Any 'Jewish-Latino hybrid culture' would speak Spanish with Yiddish loanwords, and any words of Russian origin would come via the medium of Yiddish.
 
Except that any Jews from the Pale of Settlement in this era are likely to be speaking Yiddish as a home language, with Russian only as a second or third language. Any 'Jewish-Latino hybrid culture' would speak Spanish with Yiddish loanwords, and any words of Russian origin would come via the medium of Yiddish.
There were also many Russian speaking Jews living in Belarus (Litvaks).
 

Deleted member 67076

My natural guess would be the Cibao región, where Trujillo, despite all his flaws, resettled Jews in OTL Sosua.
The Cibao also has the larger middle classes that this largely literate group could mingle with, getting the necessary financing for whatever economic activity they'd like. Also compared to the Levant, its much easier to set up agricultural colonies given the fertility of the region.

At most, I could see 2000 Russian Jews resettled. The government would provide them land and cattle, so as in OTL, I'd expect them to gain a profit in the cheese and bread industry. They would survive longer than the Jews in OTL, due to them being longer grounded in the area.
2000 is a big number, enough to start up rounds of chain migration from Europe, the US, and the Maghreb to DR. And also to reach out to the Jewish community of New York and the Northeast to coordinate import/export activities and foreign investment, especially since there'd be an almost utter lack of antisemitism down in Santo Domingo.
 
The Cibao also has the larger middle classes that this largely literate group could mingle with, getting the necessary financing for whatever economic activity they'd like. Also compared to the Levant, its much easier to set up agricultural colonies given the fertility of the region.


2000 is a big number, enough to start up rounds of chain migration from Europe, the US, and the Maghreb to DR. And also to reach out to the Jewish community of New York and the Northeast to coordinate import/export activities and foreign investment, especially since there'd be an almost utter lack of antisemitism down in Santo Domingo.
How many people lived in the DR at this point?
 
I spoke to @Joshua Ben Ari on this...

Russian Jews, while having pale skin, are still outsiders. They wouldn't know Spanish, would speak only Yiddish or Russian (maybe some Polish), not be skilled at farming or other forms of agriculture, and no Zionist organization would support settlement in the Dominican Republic.
 
I spoke to @Joshua Ben Ari on this...

Russian Jews, while having pale skin, are still outsiders. They wouldn't know Spanish, would speak only Yiddish or Russian (maybe some Polish), not be skilled at farming or other forms of agriculture, and no Zionist organization would support settlement in the Dominican Republic.

Mostly in the sense that these Russian Jews would feel like outsiders. They don't really have any deep attachment to the land, not a lot would go, and those that do would probably move up to the United States to be around the growing Jewish community there. Just thought this needed some clarification.
 

Deleted member 67076

not be skilled at farming or other forms of agriculture,
This isn't really necessary; plenty of urban centers that would be eager to absorb skilled labor, even peddlers. The Syrians in the country got their big start as shopkeepers and traders running caravans bringing goods to the countryside.

and no Zionist organization would support settlement in the Dominican Republic.
That said, this is the whole point of the thread given alternate communications :p
 
An interesting question is, assuming you get a Jewish community identifying as Jewish or say 20,000 or more by 1930, what happens when the Nazi persecutions start. A community this size will have the resources and some political clout to resettle a significant number of refugees. OTOH the USA pushed VERY hard against Central and South America countries allowing Jewish refugees in because of the US immigration laws. While there were quotas specific for Jews as well as Europeans from other than certain countries that were quite small, there were no quotas from South and Central America. The fear was that Jews who emigrated to countries in that region would be able to eventually move onward to the USA as residents/citizens of "quota-free" countries. The State Department was firmly committed to minimizing Jewish immigration no matter what. Given a significant Jewish community in the DR, would the government still give in to US pressure.
 
Depends on how many they resettle. My natural guess would be the Cibao región, where Trujillo, despite all his flaws, resettled Jews in OTL Sosua. As for effects, depends on how many are resettled. OTL they resettled 700 European Jews. And hailing from Sosua myself, the Jewish influence, besides the past monopoly they had on the local bread industry and a couple synagogues, is minimal due to tourism and an influx of economic migrants from the southern part of the country.

At most, I could see 2000 Russian Jews resettled. The government would provide them land and cattle, so as in OTL, I'd expect them to gain a profit in the cheese and bread industry. They would survive longer than the Jews in OTL, due to them being longer grounded in the area.

We might see intermixing between the rural campesinos and the Jews. The fact they speak Russian could be very intresting linguistically. Russian loanwords could be a part of everyday slang. A genre of music that incorporates bachata and klezmer music would be interesting. Expect a bigger distinción between Sosuan culture and the Capitaleño culture from the South.

I have to admit, a Jewish-Latino hybrid culture that speaks Spanish with Russian loanwords tickles my fancy.
TIL of a TL I did not know I wanted to read but now do. Man, whoever writes this, go for it and have fun, please.
 

Deleted member 67076

To be honest, the Dominican almost certainly needs educated urban dwellers more than it needs farmers.
And thats what I suspect most of these new citizens would be. Plenty of urban immigration during this time period (despite the site thinking otherwise)
 
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