Menachem Ussishkin
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Menahem Ussishkin
1863 - 1941
Zionist leader.
Menahem Ussishkin, engineer and leader of the Russian-based Zionist movement Hibbat Zion, was a spokesman for a practical Zionism favoring land settlement, diaspora activities to aid distressed communities, and cultural autonomy, even after the World Zionist Organization insisted on suspending such actions until a political charter recognizing Jewish national rights in Palestine was secured. Ussishkin replaced Chaim Weizmann as head of the short-lived Zionist Commission after the end of World War I and later served as chairman of the Jewish National Fund until his death in 1941. A fervent advocate of expanding Jewish land ownership as a tool for strengthening Zionism's political claims, he was equally passionate about reviving Hebrew as a spoken language and expanding educational institutions in Palestine.
Bibliography
Luz, Ehud. Parallels Meet: Religion and Nationalism in the EarlyZionist Movement (1882 - 1904). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1988.
— DONNA ROBINSON DIVINE
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Menachem Ussishkin
"Ussishkin" redirects here. For the archaeologist, see David Ussishkin.
Menachem Ussishkin (14 August 1863 - 2 October 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the Jewish National Fund.
Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin was born in Dubroŭna in the Belarusian part of the Russian Empire. In 1889, he graduated as a technical engineer from Moscow Technological Institute. Ussishkin was among the founders of the BILU movement and the Moscow branch of the Hovevei Zion. He also joined the Bnei Moshe society founded by Ahad HaAm. In 1891, he made his first trip to Palestine.[1]
He served as Secretary of the First Zionist Congress. At the Sixth Zionist Congress he opposed Uganda plan. He was one of the Jewish delegates to the Paris peace conference after World War I.[2]
In 1919, Ussishkin made aliyah to Palestine. In 1920 he was appointed head of the Zionist Commission in Palestine.[3] In his pamphlet "Our Program" he advocated group settlement based on labour Zionism. Under his influence the Zionist movement actively supported the establishment of agricultural settlements, educational and cultural institutions, and Jewish polytechnic - later the Technion.
In 1923 he was elected President of the Jewish National Fund which he headed until his death. Ussishkin was behind major land acquisitions in the Hefer, Jezreel and Beit She'an valleys.
He died in 1941 at the age of 78. He is buried in Nicanor's Cave at the botanical gardens of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus.[4]
References
- ^ "Menachem Mendel Ussishkin". The complete guide to Israeli postage stamps from 1948 onward. Boeliem. http://www.boeliem.com/content/1978/240.html.
- ^ "Menachem Mendel Ussishkin". The complete guide to Israeli postage stamps from 1948 onward. Boeliem. http://www.boeliem.com/content/1978/240.html.
- ^ "Menachem Mendel Ussishkin". The complete guide to Israeli postage stamps from 1948 onward. Boeliem. http://www.boeliem.com/content/1978/240.html.
- ^ Mount Scopus botanical garden
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Menachem Ussishkin |
- Menachem Ussishkin Jewish Agency for Israel
- The personal papers of Menachem Ussishkin are kept at the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem
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Gale Encyclopedia of the Mideast & N. Africa
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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