Living in a new city: Jewish criminality in late 19th century Odessa - myth and reality

1

Haim Sperber

Living in a new city: Jewish criminality in late 19th century Odessa - myth

and reality

Introduction:

Criminality and social deviance are some of the reactions of the transformation of societies

from the traditional form to the modern form of society. During such transformations the old

system loses its legitimacy and the ways of the new system have not as yet been embedded

with the transforming society. This paper deals with the meeting of two new creations in the

very end of the Eighteenth Century Russian Empire: the city of Odessa and Russian Jewry. The

city of Odessa was created in 1798 and Jews were not allowed to live within the Russian Empire

before the first division of Poland in 1772.

Indeed Jewish society in Eastern Europe was re-shaped between the late Eighteenth and early

Twentieth centuries. Those changes occurred due to external (namely living in new empires –

Russia and Austro-Hungary) and internal (namely social, religious and ideological changes

within the Jewish society).

The first change was adjusting to life under new regimes, namely the Russian Empire and the

Austro-Hungarian Empire. As we shall see after occupying Polish territories where many Jews

resided, Russian authorities decided to limit Jewish settlements to former Polish territories, not

allowing then to enter old Russia, where they were not allowed to live since the fourteenth

century. Russian authorities decided also to relocate the Jews within the ex-Polish territories.

As a result of this Russian policy the Jewish population of the Russian Empire became an urban

one.

Enhanced mobility and Immigration - within the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire as

well as emigration to Western Europe and North America was during the Nineteenth Century,

part of the day to day life for many Jews. This as well as the fact that, unlike their predecessors,

Russian authorities have not allowed Jews (and other non-Russian groups within the Empire)

the same autonomy they had under the Polish regime changed Jewish society,

A second major change occurred simultaneously within Jewish society - a change which had

nothing to do with the ruling powers in Eastern Europe. Since the late Eighteenth Century East

European Jewry underwent significant changes. Jewish society was a homogeneous society

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with a unified Religious leadership, however since the late Eighteenth Century it became a

much more complex entity. New forces entered Jewish political, cultural and religious scene.

Many Jews ask for the secularization of Jewish society and termination of rabbinical rule of

the community.

Thus reactions to the challenges that faced Jewish society in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth

century created a new and much more complicated Jewish society. Criminal activity was one

of the reactions to this crisis. Since the late Nineteenth century Jews engaged in two main

criminal activities: immigration related crimes and white slavery (prostitution and trafficking).

The second became the main criminal activity Jews engaged in Odessa port and even became

the monopoly of Jews. This paper investigates why.

Georg Simmel’s theory on Metropolis and mental life can contribute to our understanding of

the phenomenon of new urban populations in new port cities (Simmel, 19711). In the new

environment (urban centres), claimed Simmel 'the deepest problems of modern life flow from

the attempt of the individual to maintain the independence and individuality of his existence

against the sovereign powers of society, against the weight of the historical heritage and the

external culture and technique of life. The antagonism represents the most modern form of the

conflict which primitive man must carry on with nature for his own bodily existence'. (Simmel,

1971, p.324).

Simmel emphasized that the Eighteenth Century caused the 'liberation from all the ties which

grew up historically in politics, in religion, in morality and in economics in order to permit the

original natural virtue of man, which is equal in everyone, to develop without inhibition' (Ibid);

the Nineteenth century on the other hand 'may have sought to promote, in addition to man's

freedom, his individuality (which is connected with the division of labor) and his achievements

which make him unique and indispensable but which at the same time make him so much the

more dependent on the complementary activity of others' (Ibid) - but, claimed Simmel, the

result of the changes in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century brought about a major change.

A 'fundamental motive was at work, namely the resistance of the individual to being levelled,

swallowed up in the social-technological mechanism'. (Ibid).

Perhaps the old theory of Frontier offered many years ago by Frederick Jackson Turner may

prove fruitful here (Turner, 1921). Ports, I suggest, were the juncture where new populations

1 Thanks to my friend Dr. Nimrod Luz for this reference.

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and new places met. In passing between countries and continents a new kind of people

appeared, people who found new solutions to new problems that were created by their new

environment. Over multiple generations, the frontier produced characteristics of informality,

violence, crudeness, democracy and initiative that allowed immigrants to leave behind the old

habits and embrace new one. This could happen either in border cities or in port cities. Port,

being temporary by nature provided a space allowing getting rid of the old and embracing the

new. When new populations met new cities (in our case new Jews meeting the new Odessa)

the juncture took some time a criminal turn.

The process described here can also be explained by adopting theories of marginality and

Marginal People (Goldberg, 2012). Marginalization can be describes as an individual cultural

adaptation style involve the rejection of both the values of the dominant "host" culture (Here

the Russian Empire) and the values of the culture of origin (Here the Jewish Community)

(Berry et. al. 2006). People experiencing such changes tend, sometimes, to transgress into the

criminal scene, especially in spaces like Port and Border cities.

Eldering & Knorth (1998, p. 153) claimed that: "Marginalization refers to a process by which

a person becomes distant from the conventional institutions in society (e.g., Family, School,

Labor market)". We claim that the process applies not only to youth but also to elderly people.

These persons (elders) run the risk of becoming delinquent when they migrate, physically and

culturally from a traditional to a new environment. This was, we suggest here, the case of New

Russian Jews encountering a new regime (Russian Empire after 1772) and new space (Odessa

since 1794). One of the aspects of this was criminal activity. This aspect will be discussed here.

Odessa and the Jews:

The city of Odessa was officially founded in 1794 as an Imperial Russian naval fortress on the

ruins of a former Ottoman fortress named Khadjibey (or Kotsyubiiv), (Herlihy, 1986). Near

the new military base an independent settlement of Moldavanka already existed. During the

19th century it was incorporated into the city of Odessa. Though established by Rumanians

Moldavanka became, since Mid-Nineteenth Century the Jewish quarter of Odessa.

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Nineteenth Century East European Jews - A New form of Jewish Society

Jewish society in 19th Century Russian Empire was a new one in many respects - here are two

of them:

1. Before the breakdown of the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom, also known as the first partition

of Poland in 1772 Jews were not allowed into Russia. Most East European Jewry lived within

the boundaries of the great Polish-Lithuanian Empire. Between 1772 and 1796 this political

entity disappeared. Poland was partitioned between the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian

Empire and the German Kingdom of Prussia (Davies, 2005). Eventually in 1796 most of about

a million Polish Jews dwelled within the Russian Empire - an Empire that until 1772 forbade

Jews to live in its boundaries (Polonsky, 2009, Part 2, Chapter 5: The Jews in the Tsarist

Empire, 1772-1825).

Most of the Jews in the Russian Empire lived in the provinces of Ukraine and Lithuania, where

they have been living for many years before (Polonsky, 2005, Part 2, Chapters 3& 5). The

Russian Regime opted to leave the Jews in areas where they were living anyway. This was

because the new regime was unable to get rid of the Jews since they were crucial in operating

the Ukrainian Economy. Ukraine was called the granary of Eastern Europe. This was the very

reason the Russian decided to occupy Poland. Driving the Jews out of the Ukraine negated the

Russian Interest. Most of the Jews were thus forced to stay in what became to be known as the

“Pale of Settlement” (Deutsch, 2011). Only a few Jews - who were of importance to the

industrialization of Russia, were allowed to dwell in what was known as the “Old Russia”

(Klier, 1986).

However allowing the Jews to settle only in the "Pale of Settlement" was but one facet of

Russian policy towards the Jews. This represented a huge change in the relations between the

Jews and the Authorities. Under Polish rule Jews hardly were in touch with the authorities and

officials. The Jewish Community transferred taxes to the local administrators and in turn the

authorities allowed the Jews to run their community without any interference. The Russian

Empire operated in a different manner. According to the principles on Enlightened Absolutism

the Russian Czars tried to establish a modern state unified under the Rule of the Czar. An

attempt was made to "Russifiy" all religious and ethnic groups within the Empire. (Nathans,

2004 Stanislawski, 1983).

5

Russian rulers in the 19th century - especially Czar Nicolas (Nicolay) the 1st (in power 1825-

1855) promoted policies of Industrialization and Russification (Polunov,2005; Dolbilov, 2007)

that affected the multicultural population of the Russian empire, especially in the Ukraine2. As

part of this policy, Jews - along with others - were transferred into the large industrial centres

such as the Port city of Odessa. (Herlihy, 2003).

The Jewish population of the Russian Empire had to adjust to the new regime and its policies

(Nathans, 2004, Introduction). Jewish way of life under the new regime changed drastically.

Freeze and Harris show this in their collection of everyday lives of Jews in Russia (Freeze and

Harris, 2013). Some Jews reacted, as we shall see, to the new reality by adopting deviant and

criminal behaviours.

2. East European (now Russian) Jews were “new” in another sense. Since the 1760 new -

religious and secular - movements rose within East European Jewish Society. Two new groups

reshaped Jewish society in Eastern Europe: Hasidism and Enlightenment. Hasidism offered a

new version of Religious leadership emphasizing the role of the individual in religious

behaviour. Hasidism introduced a new kind of religious leadership and a new more ecstatic

daily religious behaviour. (Katz, 2000. Original Hebrew Edition, 1958 Original English

Edition 1961). Enlightenment and Secularism also became an important component of East

European Jewish Life, offering a non-religious version of Jews. Religious observance was

rejected by many Jews, who still lived within Jewish society. (Nathans, 2004).

Now for the first time since the Early Middle Ages Jewish society was no more a homogenic

religious society (Polonsky, 2009, Part 1, Chapter 2). Moving into the urban centres (Stampfer,

1995) together with the deterioration of authority of the religious leadership created

opportunities for groups hitherto in the margins of Jewish society. Furthermore, upon migrating

to large cities (including Odessa) the structure of occupations among Jews changed

significantly (Spitzer, 2012).

2 Though this policy was initiated by Catherine II (the Great) and Alexander I its main creator

was Czar Nicholas I. He decided to re-distribute the Jews within the “Pale of Settlement” and

during his reign Jews entered Odessa. See Polonsky, 2009, Part 2, Chapter 6; Stanislawski,

1983 & Klier, 1986)

6

Immigration from small cities and villages to the new urban centres diminished the role of

rabbis within the Jewish communities even further. In classical Jewish settlement rabbinical

institutions were part and parcel of the communal organization. In the beginning immigration

to the new settlements, like Odessa was not of groups or families but of individuals. A few men

and occasionally women came to the cities. The new comers lived within non Jewish

neighbourhoods, which changed their perceptions regarding non-Jews and made them realise

that Jews can live outside of Jewish Society.

Only after the number of immigrants justified it religious institutions (a synagogue for

example) were established and religious officials (rabbi for an example) were recruited. This

made religious observance very difficult to obtain. People began degrading the importance of

fulfilling the religious commandments – which were of utmost importance in Jewish religious

life. This is why in new townships, like Odessa, religious meticulousness ceased to be the basis

of communal existence. Thus rabbis and rabbinical establishments gradually became less

important.

Jews in Odessa

The first significant group of Jews came to Odessa only towards the 1850s (Shaw, 1988). Most

Jews in the Pale of Settlement lived in small townships known in Yiddish as “Shtetle”. Odessa

was by this time a Tax Free Port city, and most of the Town’s Jews dealt with small commerce

on the outskirts of the Port (Klier, 2001). With industrialization and the rising importance of

the Odessa port the Jewish population in Odessa grew (Hausmann, 1998), and in 1897 some

165,000 Jews lived in the city constituting 37% of its entire population (Based on Shaw 1988,

passim).

However the first Jews came to Odessa as individuals and only later, as the Jewish population

grew in the city, a community was established and rabbinical and all the religious apparatus

were created. Thus much of the Jews in Odessa were not very religious - to say the least. It’s

no wonder that the city of Odessa soon became one of the most important centres of the Jewish

Enlightenment Movement (Known in Hebrew as Haskalah) (Zipperstein, 1985).

Odessa - Sin City: Literary Myth and Historical Facts

Odessa was and is still known in Russian Folklore as the sin city or City of thieves (Stanton,

2008, Sylvester, 2005, Tanny 2009 & Tanny 2011). Much of the literal engagement in the

criminal activity in the late 19th and early 20th century is associated with Jews. Vanden Heuvel

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claimed that Jewish writers portrayed port cities as sin cities.as a way of redefining Jewish

identity (Vanden Heuvel, 2012). However research shows that Jewish activity in criminal

activities in Odessa was less than the Jews percentage in the total population - still the image

remains (Sylvester, 2001).

Much of this is due to the portraying of the deviant activities of Jews in the writing of important

Jewish authors such as Isaac Babel (Babel, 2002; Freidin, 2010; Stanton, 2004) and others. The

villain hero in Babel’s work (especially his “Odessa tales”) was a character by the name of

Benya Krik (Babel, 1969). The portraying of this fictional hero is based on a real gang leader

in Odessa known as Mishka Yaponchik or Moyshe Yaponchik (whose real name Moisei

Wolfovich Vinnitskiy). Vinnitskiy's eye were slanted, resembling Japanese people eyes.

Yaponchik in Yiddish means Japanese.

The fictional Krik, who was also known as The King, was the leader of a group of thugs and

smugglers, who operated in the Jewish ghetto Moldavanka in Odessa (Barral, 2010). The real

Moisei Wolfovich Vinnitskiy, on the other hand, was born into a family of a Jewish wagon-

builder. Vinnitskiy was around 4 years old when his family moved to Odessa (indeed to

Moldavanka). Vinnitskiy's mother, Doba Zelmanovna, gave birth to five sons and a daughter.

Sometime in 1897 Mishka lost his father. At first he worked at a mattress factory as a trainee,

while also attending the Jewish school. Later, as an electrician, he received a job at the "Anatra"

factory (Briker, 1994).

At the time of the pogroms against the Jews in Odessa in October 1905 Vinnitskiy participated

in the Jewish self-defence activities. Later he joined the organization of anarchists-communists

Molodaia Volya (Young Will). It was probably during that time that he received his famous

street name, presumably for the shape of his eyes, even though there are other versions of the

origin of the nickname (Briker, 1994).

However fiction never represents real life3. Though Jewish criminals (real and fictional ones)

in Odessa were running contraband (GAOO, 1879-1889), this was not the main Jewish criminal

occupation.

3 Soviet television and Cinema recreated Babel’s stories embedding further the myth. See: O.

V. Budnitskiĭ, ‘La construction d'Odessa comme "mère du crime" ou comment Moïse

Vinnitski est devenu Benia Krik’, Kinojudaica les représentations des Juifs dans le cinéma de

Russie et d'Union soviétique des années 1910 aux années 1980. Sous la direction de Valérie

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Two criminal fields were run mainly by Jews, not only in Odessa but in many other Port cities

like Istanbul (Turkey), Alexandria (Egypt), London (England), Marseille (France), New York

(USA) and especially Buenos Aires (Argentina). The first one was immigration related crimes

and the second and main one was trafficking and prostitution.

Immigration related Crime:

Jews were much if not the majority of immigrants from the Russian Empire from 1870 to 1914.

It was estimated that 2 million Jews left the Russian empire in those years (out of a total Jewish

population estimated at 5.5 million in 1880) (Alroey, 2014). Most immigrating Jews came

mainly from the inner parts of the pale of settlement. Many of them used Odessa as the

embankment point for their migration either to Central and West European ports or ports

Mediterranean ports (Hausmann, 2003 & Klier, 2001). Among other things the immigrants

needed:

Potential immigrants were waiting for immigration permissions near the Odessa port and other

Russian border towns. Here they needed assistance during the process of leaving the Russian

Empire. The need to provide temporary housing as well as obtaining documents vital for

immigration created the phenomenon of "migration agents", many of them criminals (Alroey,

2011). Soloducha4 (1907, p.3) reported: 'All kinds of Agents. Official, Firm [company] owners

and Covert and helpers of all kinds – appear in huge numbers…'. There were two groups of

Agents: Official representatives of shipping companies and villains, pretending to act as official

agents. An anonymous writer (Y"N) reported that the latter group included professional

criminals and smugglers. (Y"N, 1908).

People found out that in many cases negotiating with the Russian authorities proved fruitless.

They asked the assistance of agents (Alroey, 2003; Nadell, 1984). Soloducha (1908) described

many ways in which the agents deceived the immigrants. For example: Russian law allowed

registering in a passport all members of a family. This created problems. Soloducha described

cases of families that some of those registered in the passport were delayed in the departure

port due to health issues. In such cases all the family was detained. The agent disappeared and

Pozner et Natacha Laurent (Toulouse: Éditions Nouveau monde; Cinémathèque de Toulouse,

2012), pp. 411-439. 4 Libui Yiddish for Libau see Evans, 2006.

9

could not migrate. In other cases fictional families were created. The agent registered in one

passport people who were not relatives as members of a family.

A famous Jewish author, Alexander Harkavy, reported in his diary on many passport related

cases (Harkavy, 1906-1907). He also published a book in 1905, advising immigrants on how

to avoid troubles while emigrating (Harkavy, 1905). Harkavy was an employee of the Jewish

Colonization Association (JCA) - an organization aiding Jewish immigration established in

1891 by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. JCA published in 1912 a brochure in Yiddish dedicated to

the unauthorized agents (JCA, 1912a) describing many activities by such swindlers.

Those who were forced to stay had to find lodging near the port. These cheap hotels were run

by other agents and were highly crowded. People, of both sexes lodged sometimes three of four

in a single bed. Criminals took over those buildings, driving away the owners or buying the

property very cheaply. (A-N-I, 1907 Letter Zionist Archive, 1906).

Ber (1908) described in detail the difficulties an immigrant faced trying to obtain a passport.

Thus people looked for forged passports. Forged passports were provided by criminals, and

cost much more than the sum of 15 Rubals needed for a legal passport (Ha-Melitz, August

1891).

Men could obtain passports, but women could not. A woman wishing to emigrate had to be

registered in her father’s or husband’s passport. Women not accompanied by father or husband

were registered by criminals in forged passport and the owner of the passport also went aboard

with the women (Alroey, 2006). In some cases immigrating women needed to be accompanied

by men in whose passport was registered (Alroey, 2014, Chapters 2 & 3). As we shall see in

many cases women were raped while traveling and upon arrival were met by local brothel

people, thus becoming prostitutes in the new country (Alroey, 2014, Chapter 2).

Odessa Jewish criminals offered solutions to these problems. Prospective immigrants were

lodged in crowded facilities near the port owned by the gangs. They terrorized all other

potential landlords out of this business. They also provided falsified registration in passports

to women (GAOO, 1879-1889). This was also related to the trafficking issue as we shall discuss

next.

Immigration was an ethnic phenomenon. Jews spoke a unique language and formed a unique

culture. This explains why most criminals involved in immigration related crime operating

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among Jewish immigrants were Jews. Jewish dominance of trafficking and prostitution is a

different story.

Trafficking and Prostitution:

Jewish criminals5 many of them from the district of Jewish Ghetto Moldavanka in Odessa,

organized an international trafficking network shifting young girls and young women from

Eastern Europe to Turkey and the Middle East (via the Black Sea) on one hand and to Central

and Western Europe and from there to the Americas on the other hand (Bristow, 1982).

Police statistics from the Russian Empire, the Polish districts (mainly Warsaw) (Stauter-

Halsted, 2009), the Austrian Empire (Stauter-Halsted, 2007), Germany, New York and

Argentina (Wingfield, 2011; Yarfitz, 2012) establish that this specific criminal activity

(sometimes referred to as “white slavery”) was very much a Jewish occupation. For example a

research from 17 November 1908 by the Zionist movement cites that a year earlier 104 out 124

pimps tried in Russian courts were Jews (84%); 80 out of 93 pimps entering Argentina & Brazil

were Jews (86%); 68 out of 101 Hungarian pimps were Jews (67%) and 38 out of 39 pimps in

the Austrian province of Galicia (nearly 100%) were Jews (Zionist Archive, 1908). Even the

vocabulary used in this trade came mostly out of the Yiddish language (Van OnSelen, 2000).

How did the Jewish community in Odessa and in other places react to this particular Jewish

occupation? Especially since most of the young women in the trade were Jewish as well

(Vincent, 2005 & Glickman, 2000).

The Jewish public was very much aware of the phenomenon. The issue was discussed most

thoroughly in the Hebrew and Yiddish press (Ha-Melitz, 1892). Many reports published stories

of young women, and in some cases very young (age 14-15) and their misfortunes (Bristow,

1982). The Jewish Newspapers also reported in length the activities of the men and women

running this industry, including naming them and their various nicknames, the houses they

operated from, etc. Menahem Sheldorf, (AKA Shlomo Bloom or Shlomo Haimowitz) from

Odessa who escorted at least 24 young women from Eastern Europe to Argentina, was

5 Official documents: Papers of Governor-General, City Chief, Prosecutor’s, Police and

Customs offices, and the courts tell about various branches of criminality where Jews were the

best specialists, such as smuggling, illegal import of foreign goods, making and transfer of false

money (coins and assignations), speculations, robbery and business connected with supplying

houses of prostitution and sail of women to brothels in Istanbul (Turkey) and other places

abroad. (GAOO, 1879-1889, Fond 5)

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mentioned in newspapers, warning young women and their fathers of his mischiefs (Ha-

Maggid, 1896 & Ha-Melitz, 1896).

Many of the reports were aimed at parents of young women warning them about the variety of

ways the criminals took to mobilize their young and often innocent victims (Alroey, 2014).

The reports encouraged parents (especially fathers) of young girls and women to protect their

daughters from the possibility of being kidnaped and becoming prostitutes either in Russia or

sent abroad (Ha-Melitz, 1892). Jewish Women organized committees to battle the prostitution

phenomenon (Jewish Association, 1904 & 1910).

On the other hand in many places, including Odessa, the criminals were the main financial

contributors of the Jewish community (Zipperstein, 2002). In such cases the religious leaders

of the community even supplied character testimonies to the courts. (Many such cases are

known in other Port cities such as Buenos Aires, Alexandria and Rio de Janeiro. (On Buenos

Aires see: Mirlman, 1986).

Still gang members and prostitutes were not allowed to be buried within the centre parts of the

graveyards. According to Jewish laws and traditions people with dubious character, people

who committed religious offences and people who committed suicide are buried at the outskirts

of the graveyards in special sections. Most of those engaging in the prostitution industry were

buried in the special sections or in some cases (New York and in Buenos Aires for example)

they had a separate graveyard. (Bristow, 1982). Ambivalence was the name of the game here.

Trafficking was regarded as a horrible kind of crime. Other criminals, dealing in less morally

threatening activities, were buried right at the middle of the communal graveyard.

Various organizations with the agenda of preventing prostitution were formed. Some were

gender based organizations (Kaplan, 1982); Jewish Association for the Protection of Girls and

Women in London - JAPGW (Jewish Association, 1910; Bristow, 1982; Gartner, 1982);

Jüdischer Frauenbund - JFB (The League of Jewish Women) in Germany (Kaplan, 1979) - are

just a few examples. They were formed by women (Lady Battersea in England and Bertha

Pappenheim in Germany). Pappenheim also formed a similar organization in Eastern Europe -

based in Warsaw (Pappenheim, 1992 (originally 1924); Kaplan, 1979). Occasionally, women's

organizations were supported in combating prostitution by other world organization - Jewish

Colonization Association (JCA) is just one example. JCA co-operated with JAPGW in 1912

helping 15 young women who emigrated from Russia and went into work as prostitutes in

London (JCA Report, 1912).

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Why did trafficking take place in port cities and border cities more than in other places?

According to Robert Lee port cities played an essential part in the urbanization especially in

Europe. (Lee, 1998 & Lee and Richard Lawton, 2002). Networks played a major role in the

urbanization process (Tilly, 1990; Spitzer, 1913). Trafficking needed networks and port cities

were the basis for these network operations (Bristow, 1982)6. The phenomenon under

discussion coincided with the huge waves of late 19th early 20th century migration. The role of

Port cities in this period of migration was very significant. In the case of prostitution the

network spread, as we saw, from the ports of origin to ports of destination (Odessa to Istanbul

is one example).

Young girls were harvested in East European small cities and were promised husband, lodging

and work in the new world or in the new countries (Alroey, 2014). They arrived at ports in

Europe accompanied by young men. Sometimes trafficking failed. Davis Herman (AKA

Hermann Roder) tried to smuggle six young women, but was spotted by police in Hamburg

port and was sent back to Russia (Ha-Melitz, 1888; Ha-Tzfira, 1888). According to the second

report Herman was successful in smuggling young women to Argentina, at least twice before.

Young men as well as older women were very instrumental in recruiting prostitutes. Men

entrapped young women seducing in various ways (Bristow, 1982, pp 63-64; Anon, 1910).

Older women served as middle women offering the young women, coming from villages and

small cities different ways to adjust to life in the city. Those women (known in Yiddish as

Reiferke) provided the young girls work and lodging. Later young men were introduced to the

young women, many times recruiting the women to work in the prostitution industry (Anon,

1910). In some cases the women were drugged and raped. This enabled the brothel owners to

take control (Y"L, 1912). These women served as prostitutes in the city. In port cities

prostitution played a major role in sailors and other temporary visitors' life in the city.

Other women were treated with respect and were convinced to sail to other countries and live

there. They were promised work place, or a potential husband in the new country. Since women

were not granted passports they registered in men’s passports - many of those falsified. On

board they were raped, beaten and upon arrival were handed to local brothel owners.

6 Many reports in Hebrew Newspapers describe such networks. In many cases members of the

networks were members of family. For example Joseph Bord and Yehuda Banda, who run

operations of smuggling women from Eastern Europe to Argentina, were brothers in law (Ha-

Maggid, 1899). Bord's assistant was one Napoleon Dikfaden. Dikfaden's wife Sara served as

'Madam' in a brothel in Buenos Aires. (Ha-Maggid, 1899).

13

Sometimes they were auctioned by competing brothel owners. Being in unfamiliar

surroundings, they were unable to resist or escape (Y"L, 1912, Vincent, 2005 & Glickman,

2000).

Why did trafficking and prostitution become a unique Jewish occupation in the late 19th

century? The late Israeli anthropologist Abraham Sthal claimed that prostitution was a by-

product of the transition from traditional to modern society (Stahl, 1978). Indeed, claimed

Stahl, it is a by-product of passage between cultures. I doubt if it is the right answer. Jewish

society was but one of the European societies that took this passage. Why than was this

occupation predominantly a Jewish affair. Much research needs to be done before this question

can be answered.

Summery

We attempted here to analyze Jewish criminal activities in the Port city of Odessa during the

Nineteenth and the Early Twentieth Centuries. We claimed that during the Nineteenth Century

East European Jewish society underwent a huge change from a traditional homogeneous

society to a modern diversified one. Life under Russian Rule was also very much different

from living under Polish regime.

Engaging in criminal activities was one of the response to this new situation. Criminality is

much more common in Port cities. An attempt was made to portray Jewish criminal activities

in Odessa, the main port city of the Russian Empire. Using Simmel's theory on urbanization

and other theories on Marginalization, the reasons for criminal activities by Jews in Odessa

were investigated. Trafficking was the most 'Jewish' specialty in Crime. Not only running

prostitution establishments within the Russian empire was a Jewish realm. Jews operated

international trafficking. Young women were shifted from Eastern Europe to Western Europe,

the Middle East (especially Turkey, Egypt and Palestine), North America and South America.

Relating trafficking to immigration and immigration networks theories explains this

phenomenon only partially. More research needs to be done here.

14

Sources:

Primary Sources (Archives and Newspapers):

- A-N-I (8 March 1907) ''Immigration Via Libui beach', Ha-Zman (Hebrew

Newspaper) p. 3 (in Hebrew).

- Anon. (19 February 1910) 'Live Merchandise Commerce' Naye Welt (Yiddish

Newspaper), 43: 154-155.

- Ber, Y., (14 December 1908) 'How to get a Passport Abroad', Der Yudisher

Immigrant {The Jewish Immigrant}[Yiddish Newspaper] (In Yiddish)

- GAOO =The State Archives of Odessa Region (1879-1889) Fond 5: Temporal

Odessa Governor-General (Vremennyj Odesskij general-gubernator), (In

Russian)

- Ha-Maggid [Hebrew Newspaper] (21 September 1896) 'A Wrong doing in Israel',

(In Hebrew)

- Ha-Maggid [Hebrew Newspaper] (31 July 1899) 'Human Trafficking in

Argentina'. (In Hebrew)

- Ha-Melitz [Hebrew Newspaper] (27 July 1888) no title (In Hebrew)

- Ha-Melitz [Hebrew Newspaper] (5 August 1891). 'Odessa' (In Hebrew)

- Ha-Melitz [Hebrew Newspaper] (1 April, 1892 & 5 July 1892) 'A Severe

Warning: Concerning young Israelite Women' (In Hebrew)

- Ha-Melitz [Hebrew Newspaper] (25 September 1896) 'Buenos Aires' (in Hebrew)

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