Professional Affiliation

Undergraduate Student, Erfurt University

Expert Bio

Mirjam Limbrunner completed her Undergraduate Degree at the University of Erfurt, Germany, where she studied International Relations and History. She was a member of the student council and served as an academic tutor for her fellow students in Modern History. Before and during her studies, she traveled to Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan several times. Most recently, she interned at the German-Israeli Chamber of Commerce and spent a semester abroad at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Mirjam speaks fluent German and English and intermediate level of Modern Hebrew. She is currently studying Arabic. In late 2019, she will begin her Graduate Degree in International Relations and Modern History in the Netherlands.

Wilson Center Project

Communism and Zionism from Early Soviet Perspective

Project Summary

The project attempts to shed light on the complex and, at times, paradoxical relations between the early Soviet Union and Palestine. Since the end of the 19th century, socialist-Jewish Russians have played a major part in the development of Zionist thinking and the establishment of Israel. However, many other socialist Russians fiercely opposed an ideology based on ethnicity and religion. What were the Bolsheviks’ and early Soviet perspective on Zionism and how did this influence their policies towards Palestine? To understand the Soviet stance toward Zionism, the “Jewish Problem” during the late Tsarist Empire will be examined in the first part. Secondly, the Jewish population and their allegiances during the Civil War will be further scrutinized, looking at Jewish identity between the Reds and the Whites. The early Soviet policy towards the Zionist project, and eventually, their vote in the UN in favor of the partition of Palestine will comprise the third section.