Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Finalist, 2026 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature: Nonfiction
Winner of The 74th National Jewish Book Award: American Jewish Studies Celebrate 350 Award
Reveals the mass mobilization tactics that helped free Soviet Jews and reshaped the Jewish American experience from the Johnson era through the Reagan–Bush years
What do these things have in common? Ingrid Bergman, Passover matzoh, Banana Republic®, the fitness craze, the Philadelphia Flyers, B-grade spy movies, and ten thousand Bar and Bat Mitzvah sermons? Nothing, except that social movement activists enlisted them all into the most effective human rights campaign of the Cold War.
The plight of Jews in the USSR was marked by systemic antisemitism, a problem largely ignored by Western policymakers trying to improve relations with the Soviets. In the face of governmental apathy, activists in the United States hatched a bold plan: unite Jewish Americans to demand that Washington exert pressure on Moscow for change.
A Cold War Exodus delves into the gripping narrative of how these men and women, through ingenuity and determination, devised mass mobilization tactics during a three-decade-long campaign to liberate Soviet Jews—an endeavor that would ultimately lead to one of the most significant mass emigrations in Jewish history.
Drawing from a wealth of archival sources including the travelogues of thousands of American tourists who smuggled aid to Russian Jews, Shaul Kelner offers a compelling tale of activism and its profound impact, revealing how a seemingly disparate array of elements could be woven together to forge a movement and achieve the seemingly impossible. It is a testament to the power of unity, creativity, and the unwavering dedication of those who believe in the cause of human rights.
"A Cold War Exodus has real relevance in these times, as Jewish communities across North America contend with a profoundly disturbing upsurge in antisemitism. As we search for a counternarrative of our own, Kelner reminds us that we have a story to tell, and that grassroots mobilization is an effective means of telling that story. It can allow us to effect real change, and to do so in a way that is uniquely Jewish. In the words of Joe Hill, the great Swedish American labor activist, 'Don’t mourn, organize.'"
"A great example of the importance of studying history from the grassroots. Shaul Kelner frames the story of this transformative social movement in a fresh new way, starting out not with the boardrooms of the mighty national organizations with their professional staffs and well developed press contacts, but from the vantage point of the ordinary women and men who came from, as the rallying cry of the 1960s resounded, from the bottom up. The deep research, sharp writing, and keen insights bring the actions undertaken in kitchens and living rooms to life."
"A tour de force. The prose is beautiful and every page is rich with insight. A Cold War Exodus makes landmark contributions to the sociology of movements and culture, offering important lessons for how to turn politics into a cultural movement. The cultural impact of the movement to free Soviet Jewry was profound and eclectic, reshaping religious rituals, summer camps, professional identities, tourism, and even the cola wars. Kelner’s revealing book makes clear how political impacts over decades of activity were a direct consequence of the culture and creativity of the Soviet Jewry movement, pressuring American and Soviet governments and forever reconfiguring the Jewish-American experience."
"A Cold War Exodus brings back a somewhat forgotten but endlessly fascinating movement that has gone overlooked by social movement scholars. Kelner artfully blends cultural sociology with social movement theory to understand tactical innovation in the U.S.-based movement to free Soviet Jewry. The result is a complex story of culture, religion, politics, and the life course. An excellent book."
"Want to be an activist, make the impossible happen? Read this book! A comprehensive and compelling study of how grassroots actions can invent a movement that alters those engaged in it as well as the larger world."
"Kelner breaks new ground by focusing on the strategies and tactics used to mobilize American Jews to this cause ... In a particularly brilliant and perceptive chapter, he analyzes travel accounts from Jews who visited with 'refuseniks.' The introduction and conclusion contextualize these findings within the sociological literature on social movements and mass mobilization. Readers of all kinds will benefit from this volume, which persuasively reinterprets the Soviet Jewry movement from a fresh vantage point."
"Shaul Kelner's work distinguishes itself in this ever-evolving corpus... [his] conclusions are essential not only to enthusiasts of the American Soviet Jewry movement, but to students of American Jewish history writ large."
"Engaging and informative... A Cold War Exodus is a model for students of social movements on how to explore and explain activism in all its chaotic and kinetic glory."
"Kelner’s dedication to this project, which included learning Russian, has produced an insightful book that presents an entirely new vista on the Soviet Jewry campaign. Written with a compelling narrative, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in this era of Jewish history."
"[Kelner] argues, persuasively and subtly, that as much as American Jews might have done for Soviet Jews, the movement did more for them, both collectively and individually. It changed the nature of American Jewish communal life for three decades... [a] brilliant social history."
"Offers a fascinating portrait of the way the Soviet Jewry movement did what it did… It is not a history of the Soviet Jewish escape from totalitarianism; rather, it focuses on the activist tactics used to drive attention to the cause."
"... A fascinating and comprehensive case study of social movements and American Cold War culture. Kelner’s skilled storytelling makes this book a must-read for anyone interested in the Soviet Jewry movement, activism, and American Jewry in the late Cold War era."