Morris Winchevsky(Yiddish:מאָריס װינטשעװסקי; born asLeopold Benzion Novokhovitch;August 9 1856–March 18 1932), also known asBen Netz,was a prominentJewishsocialistleader inLondonand the United States in the late 19th century.
Morris Winchevsky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Leopold Benzion Novokhovitch August 9, 1856 Jonava,Lithuania |
| Died | March 18, 1932(aged 75) New York City |
| Pen name | Ben Netz |
| Occupation | Newspaper editor, poet |
| Language | Yiddish,English,Polish |
Born inJonava,Lithuania,in 1856,[1]Winchevsky later moved to London where, already a well known socialist, he founded theDer Poylisher Yidl(The Little Polish Jew), one of the firstYiddishdaily socialist newspapers; and theArbeter Fraynd,the first Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper.
In the US
editAfter immigrating toNew York City,Winchevsky joined withAbraham Cahanand Louis Miller, two other prominent New York Jewish socialists, to found what would later become the largestYiddish-language daily newspaper in the world,The Forwardin 1897. This got them kicked out of theSocialist Labor Party.They would later migrate to theSocial Democracy of America,theSocial Democratic Party of Americaand theSocialist Party of America.Winchevsky wrote parodies directed to Jews of thePale of Settlementin hopes of creating class consciousness.[2]
Winchevsky was later selected as the representative of theJewish Socialist Federationto theAmerican Jewish Congresswhen the AJC met to select its delegates to theParis Peace Conferencein 1919. At the meeting of the Congress, Winchevsky was publicly censured by the JSF for expressingZionistsentiments.
He was subsequently associated with theCommunist Party USAand its Yiddish dailyMorgen Freiheit.
Winchevsky died on March 18, 1932, and is buried in theWorkmen's Circlesection ofMount Carmel Cemetery,alongside other Jewish socialist leaders.[3]
Poetry
editWinchevsky is known for his role in the development of Yiddishpoetry.Notably, he was a member of the Proletarian Poets, an association formed with Winchevsky,Morris Rosenfeld,David Edelstadt,andJoseph Bovshover.
Tributes
editA "secular humanist" Jewish Sunday school inToronto,Ontario, was named after Winchevsky. Founded in 1928, theMorris Winchevsky Schoolis run by theUnited Jewish People's Order.
References
edit- ^Encyclopedia of American Jewish History
- ^"Parody".YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews of Eastern Europe.
- ^Goren, Arthur Aryeh (1994)."Sacred and Secular: The Place of Public Funerals in the Immigrant Life of American Jews".Jewish History.8(1/2): 298.doi:10.1007/BF01915918.ISSN0334-701X.JSTOR20101201.S2CID162336472.
Further reading
edit- Melech Epstein,Profiles of Eleven.Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1965.
- Irving Howe,World of Our Fathers: The Journey of the East European Jews to America and the Life They Found and Made.New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976.