MEMORIES OF ZIONISM: AN ORAL HISTORY OF RESIDENTS IN GREATER SPRINGFIELD AND THE PIONEER VALLEY

Longmeadow, Mass. : Jewish Geriatric Services, 1998. Paperback. 8vo. Xx, 138 pages. Illustrated. First edition. SUBJECT (S) : Zionism - Massachusetts; Jews - United States - history. OCLC lists 11 copies worldwide. CONTENTS: A history of Zionism in Greater Springfield; Springfield remembers historical moments; Supporting Palestine and Israeli independence; Religious education and family background; How I got involved in Zionism; What Israel means to me; Ethics and values; Timeline of world, Zionist and Springfield history. "As of 2005, Springfield and its suburbs had a total population of 251, 000, including an estimated 10, 000 Jews, a figure largely unchanged in the past quarter-century. Jews did not begin to settle in Springfield in large numbers until the East European immigration of the 1880s, though individual Jews were recorded in the city previously, among them Leopold Karpeles (1838-1909) , a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in the Civil War who lived in Springfield before the war. The first synagogues - B'nai Jacob and Beth Israel - were organized in 1891-92, and within a decade five other Orthodox congregations were established to serve the rapidly growing community, whose numbers increased from about 300 to 3, 000 between 1901 and 1907 alone. YMHA was organized in 1905 and a Jewish Home for the Aged in 1912. " (EJ, 2007) Fine condition. (AMR-34-37) xx.