TheOrganization for Jewish Colonization in Russia (Yiddish:ייִדישע קאָלאָניזאַציע אָרגאַניזאַציע אין רוסלאַנד,Yidishe Kolonizatsye Organizatsye in Rusland), commonly known by its transliterated acronym ofICOR, was a Communist-sponsoredmass organization in North America devoted to supporting the settlement of Jews in new collective settlements, firstly in the newly establishedUkrainian Soviet Republic and Southern Russia (Stavropol Krai), and latterly in theJewish Autonomous Oblast inSiberia. The organization was founded in theUnited States in 1924 and soon spread to Canada.
In 1934 the original ICOR organization was supplemented by a new fundraising andsolidarity organization, theAmerican Committee for the Settlement of Jews in Birobidjan (Ambidjan). The two groups merged into a unified organization in 1946.
The founding meeting was held in New York City in December 1924 and the initial mission of the organization was to raise money to fundJewish collective farms in Crimea and to provide a humanitarian alternative for Jews facing anti-Semitism in Europe. ICOR was motivated by the situation of the Jews of Eastern Europe who had faced decades of pogroms and turmoil (including almost a decade of war) in the Pale of Settlement and constant threat of anti-Semitism in their countries of refuge in Central and Western Europe. Alternatively, the relative safety and welcome in theNew World yielded what many saw as a trend towards the dissipation of Jewish culture, language, and "nationality".[1] Originally, the committee worked in partnership with its American contributors and Soviet authorities in order to support the newly founded large Jewish collective farms in the formerPale of Settlement, notably Southern Ukraine and the Crimea. These "kolkhozes" (collective farms) attracted many formershtetl Jews from Ukraine and Belorussia who had previously fled to larger cities for safety, as well as those whose livelihoods had been disrupted in the requisitions and economic restructuring of the early period of Soviet consolidation.
When, in 1928, the Soviet Union abandoned the idea of Jewish settlement in Crimea and endorsed instead the eventual formation of aJewish Autonomous Republic in the eastern USSR, ICOR followed suit. ICOR worked closely with theKomzet, the Soviet agency facilitating Jewish settlement, and its partner, theOZET.
One of ICOR's initial patrons wasJulius Rosenwald, president ofSears, Roebuck and Company who contributed more than $2 million to ICOR.[2] Rosenwald and many other prominent and wealthy American Jews contributed to ICOR's efforts, and their contributions were supplemented by those of working and middle class readers of the Yiddish press in the United States that carried appeals for funding and support.
The Canadian wing became a separate organization in 1935. The ICOR was active among first and second generationYiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants and was intended as a rival to theZionist movement and its agitation for a Jewish homeland inPalestine. In the 1930s the organization was also involved in protests against Nazi Germany and encouraged a boycott of German goods and also fundraised for theInternational Brigades fighting in theSpanish Civil War.
ICOR was associated with theCommunist Party, USA and theCommunist Party of Canada and generally followed theComintern's party line. The organization declined following the signing of theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
The American Committee for the Settlement of Jews in Birobidjan (Ambidjan) was established on February 27, 1934, at a meeting held in theRitz-Carlton Hotel inNew York City.[3] The meeting was addressed by Lord Marley,Dudley Leigh Aman, aBritish Labour PartyMember of Parliament and leading spokesman for the Birobidzhan project in the United Kingdom.[3]
The chief American behind the establishment of the new organization wasWilliam W. Cohen, a banker and stockbroker who had been aCongressman from New York's 17th Congressional District from 1926 to 1928.[3] Cohen saw the establishment of a Jewish Autonomous Region in the USSR as providing an important "haven for the salvage and rehabilitation of many thousands of Jews suffering in the infernos of central and eastern Europe" and supported the establishment of Ambidjan with his money, time, and effort.[3]
Ambidjan began formal operations in September 1935 with the establishment of an office located at 285 Madison Avenue in New York City.[3] Lord Marley was named honorary president with Cohen the president of the organization.[3]
A key figure behind the scenes at Ambidjan wasJacob M. Budish, a member of theCommunist Party USA and employee ofAmtorg, the New York-based Soviet foreign trade office in the United States.[4] Budish's close ties with Soviet AmbassadorAlexander Troyanovsky and position in the Communist Party apparatus made him the ideal conduit for information to Ambidjan regarding developments in the Soviet Union.[4] In the summer of 1935 Budish travelled to Birobidzhan to tour the region and conduct talks with government officials regarding the future role of Ambidjan.[5]
Following Budish's 1935 talks, Soviet authorities gave Ambidjan permission to proceed with its efforts to subsidize the emigration of European Jews to Birobidzhan.[5] Selection of settlers, primarily fromPoland,Lithuania,Romania, andGermany, was to be made by Ambidjan in consultation with Soviet officials.[5] Ambidjan would provide a grant of $350 per family selected to aid in the costs of relocation.[5]
Ambidjan's efforts attracted a wide spectrum of Americans to membership in its ranks, including a substantial contingent from the middle and upper classes, some of whom werenon-Jews.[6] Dues in the organization cost $5.[3]
In 1946 ICOR and Ambijan merged to form a unified organization.
The organization was unable to withstand the anti-Communism of theMcCarthy era; moreover, the creation ofIsrael in 1948 greatly increased the attractiveness ofZionism as offering an alternative for "Jewish Colonization". The organization was dissolved in 1951.
