Tara
12/4/13
Period 1
News Article
ASHKENAZI JEWS and
IMMIGRATION in EASTERN EUROPE
based on Judaism. This meant that they
were Ashkenazi Jews because of their
Eastern European and Russian roots.
Holidays such as Hanukkah, Passover,
Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur were all
immense holidays not only to the Jewish
culture, but to my ancestors. “All of our
ancestors celebrated the Jewish culture.”
Jeffery, Grandpa of Tara and Meredith,
states. Jeffery also says that my ancestors
Above: A menorah. This is used to light the
candles on Hanukkah
never celebrated any other cultures. My
Jewish culture is very significant to my
My family came from Eastern
Europe and Russia and all of my ancestors
were culturally Jewish. My ancestors
came from Poland, Austria, Hungary, the
Ukraine, and Russia. They came to
America around 1908 and 1917 because
of the pogrom in Europe.
All of my ancestors celebrated
their cultures and traditions, which were
family and I.
My ancestors had immigrated to
America around World War 1 in Europe
because of the pogrom. The U.S Holocaust
Memorial Museum indicates, “Pogrom is
a Russian word meaning ‘to wreak havoc,
to demolish violently.’” The U.S Holocaust
Memorial Museum also states that
“During the civil war that followed the
Tara
12/4/13
Period 1
News Article
1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Ukrainian
nationalists, Polish officials and Red Army
soldiers all engaged in pogrom-like
violence in Western Belorussia and
Poland’s Galicia province, killing tens of
thousands of Jews between 1918 and
1920.” My ancestors also moved to
America for better opportunities. There
was better education, jobs, and living
conditions in the U.S.
My ancestors had carried on the
cultures and traditions that have been
celebrated in Judaism for many years.
They had brought their traditions to
America, which has impacted my family,
allowing us to celebrate the Jewish
culture, and carry out the Jewish
traditions. The holidays that I continue to
celebrate will continue through many
generations in my family.