Abstract
It is impossible to understand the history and culture of Soviet Jews without studying the place
of Israel in their identity. Living in the state which saw Israel as the enemy, most of Soviet Jews
felt solidarity with the Jewish state and treasured everything that was linked to it. The eventual
massive immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel in the 1970s and then in the 1990s transformed
Israeli society and culture. This interdisciplinary course will investigate the Soviet Jewish-Israel
connection through historical, cultural, and political lenses. Among the topics to be covered are
the relationship between Russian literature and Hebrew literature, the depiction of Israel in
Soviet literature, translations of Israeli literature into Russian, literature produced by Soviet
Jewish emigres in Israel, and the depiction of Soviet Jews in Israeli film and popular culture.