Crimea in the Eyes of East European Karaite Immigrants of the Nineteenth Century: Between Images and Reality
Journal: East European Jewish Affairs
Year: 2021

In the 19th century, the Crimean Peninsula became a focus of attraction for educated elites of Polish Karaites, who lived in conditions of poverty and economic competition with Rabbanite Jews in their homeland. The image of Crimea in their eyes was that of a “land of milk and honey” and a prominent center of Torah knowledge. However, a collision with reality soon forced some of these “Ashkenazic” Karaite immigrants to change their perception. Influenced by the new political and cultural agenda o