Research Catalog

Title

Sewing the fabric of statehood : garment unions, American labor, and the establishment of the state of Israel / Adam M Howard.

Author

Howard, Adam M.

Publication

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2017]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 154 pages; 23 cm.

Summary

• "Long a bastion of Jewish labor power, garment unions provided financial and political aid essential to founding and building the nation of Israel. Throughout the project, Jewish labor often operated outside of official channels as non-governmental organizations. Adam Howard explores the untold story of how three influential garment unions worked alone and with other Jewish labor organizations in support of a new Jewish state. Sewing the Fabric of Statehood reveals a coalition at work on multiple fronts. Sustained efforts convinced the AFL and CIO to support Jewish development in Palestine through land purchases for Jewish workers and encouraged the construction of trade schools and cultural centers. Other activists, meanwhile, directed massive economic aid to Histadrut, the General Federation of Jewish Workers in Palestine, or pressured the British and American governments to recognize Israel's independence. What emerges is a powerful account of the motivations and ideals that led American labor to forge its own foreign policy and reshape both the postwar world and Jewish history"--
• "This project by Adam Howard explores American labor's role in aiding the growth of a Jewish state in the Middle East, as well as its part in gaining U.S. recognition for Israel. The Jewish labor movement developed its strength in the garment industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to the creation of several Jewish labor organizations as well as a strong Jewish influence within three powerful garment unions influential with the general American labor movement. Howard shows how these influential unions, together with various Jewish labor organizations, convinced the AFL and CIO to support Jewish development in Palestine through land purchases for colonization by Jewish workers, the construction of trade schools and cultural centers, and massive economic aid to Histadrut, the General Federation of Jewish Workers in Palestine. He shows how they lobbied British Labor Party leaders to support a Jewish state in Palestine, especially after the British Labor Party won power in 1945. He also examines the pressure these American groups exerted on political allies within the U.S., in Congress and the White House as well as at the local level, and assesses their pivotal role in the 1948 presidential election. Going beyond a focus on AFL and CIO cooperation with the U.S. government in foreign affairs, this project demonstrates how American labor forged its own foreign policy abroad, often operating outside the boundaries of national governments, to aid the development of a Jewish state in Palestine"--

Series Statement

Working class in American history

Uniform Title

Working class in American history.

Subject

• Jewish Labor Committee (U.S.) > History > 20th century
• Poale Zion (U.S.) > History > 20th century
• Jewish Labor Committee (U.S.)
• 1900-1999
• Jewish labor unions > Political activity > United States
• Labor Zionism > United States > History > 20th century
• Zionism > United States > History > 20th century
• Labor unions and international relations > United States > History > 20th century
• Clothing workers > United States
• POLITICAL SCIENCE > Labor & Industrial Relations
• SOCIAL SCIENCE > Jewish Studies
• BUSINESS & ECONOMICS > Labor
• Clothing workers
• Labor unions and international relations
• Labor Zionism
• Zionism
• United States

Genre/Form

History.

Note

• Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Florida, 2003.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Origins of the Jewish Labor movement -- Building a nation -- From homeland to statehood -- Beyond the water's edge -- Recognition and beyond.

Call Number

JFE 19-11102

ISBN

• 9780252083013
• 0252083016
• 9780252041464
• 0252041461

LCCN

2017020957

OCLC

983824449

Author

Howard, Adam M., author.

Title

Sewing the fabric of statehood : garment unions, American labor, and the establishment of the state of Israel / Adam M Howard.

Publisher

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2017]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Working class in American history

Working class in American history.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Note

AUTH: GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. EXAMINES EFFORTS OF THREE LABOR UNIONS TO SUPPORT A NEW JEWISH STATE.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Other Form:

Online version: Howard, Adam M. Sewing the fabric of statehood. Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield : University of Illinois Press, [2017] 9780252050060 (DLC) 2017021788

Research Call Number

JFE 19-11102