Difference between revisions of "Glasgow Poale Zion"

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The Glasgow branch of [[Poale Zion]] was formed in 1907, according to Braber.<ref>p. 263.</ref>
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According to Braber:
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:Although Jabotinsky remained a popular figure in Glasgow<ref>167. JE 3/2/1939, 10/3/1939. In 1939 he spoke at a mass meeting in the [[Glasgow Jewish Institute]].
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</ref>, the influence of the State Party and revisionism in general appear to have been marginal prior to 1939. One of the Glasgow revisionists was [[Harry Furst]], a former member of [[Glasgow Poale Zion|Poale Zion]], who had served with Jabotinsky during the First World War in a Jewish army unit. He was joined by a small group of young people, including [[Harry Crivan]], a scientist who after the Second World War became President of the [[Glasgow Jewish Representative Council]]<ref>168. JE 5/9/1930, 17/3/1939; interview H. Crivan.</ref>
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==Timeline==
 
*1930 - 'The Workers’ Circle was not able to establish a Yiddish school in Glasgow, but Yiddish was not driven out of Jewish life in the city. It was still part of Jewish working class culture. At May rallies the Labour movement invited Yiddish speakers, they had done so since the beginning of the century and continued to do this in the 1930s. On another occasion, three speakers addressed an open air meeting of the [[Poale Zion]] in August 1930. Only one of them spoke in English: [[Misha Louvish]]. The meeting was conducted in Yiddish172. In a report on a convention in Leeds in 1933, the Glasgow representative of the Workers’ Circle was able to say that a “gratifying feature had been the prevalence of Yiddish, which was spoken and understood by young and old a l i k e . ” 173.<ref>Braber, p. 135</ref>
 
*1930 - 'The Workers’ Circle was not able to establish a Yiddish school in Glasgow, but Yiddish was not driven out of Jewish life in the city. It was still part of Jewish working class culture. At May rallies the Labour movement invited Yiddish speakers, they had done so since the beginning of the century and continued to do this in the 1930s. On another occasion, three speakers addressed an open air meeting of the [[Poale Zion]] in August 1930. Only one of them spoke in English: [[Misha Louvish]]. The meeting was conducted in Yiddish172. In a report on a convention in Leeds in 1933, the Glasgow representative of the Workers’ Circle was able to say that a “gratifying feature had been the prevalence of Yiddish, which was spoken and understood by young and old a l i k e . ” 173.<ref>Braber, p. 135</ref>
 
*1930s - 'The relation between Poale Zion and Labour in general was not always easy and the Zionist group did not follow Labour blindly, but serious problems arose for Poale Zion after the publication of the Labour government’s White Paper in 1930 which followed the troubles in Palestine and opposed to limit Jewish immigration into Palestine172. Although the Poale Zion and many Labour politicians quickly distanced themselves from the document, the White Paper was used as a stick to hit Poale Zion. The Jewish Echo started an anti-Labour campaign on the issue. While the Glasgow branch of the Jewish Agency, like the JNF a fundraising body in Glasgow with General Zionist leaders, was congratulated for their public support for an Unionist candidate in the East Renfrewshire by-election173in 1930, Poale Zion was accused when it supported a Labour candidate in the Whitechapel by-election during the same year. Poale Zion was blamed for supporting a Labour candidate rather than a Jewish Liberal who was known as a Zionist and therefore known as an opponent of the White Paper. Golombok, who followed the national Jewish Chronicle in his support for this Liberal Zionist, however omitted that the Labour candidate had stated that he would vote against the government if the White Paper was not amended, and it was not until after the Poale Zion had received this assurance that they gave him their support174. The affair led to some angry exchanges in the Jewish Echo. The issue brought [[Golombok]] into conflict with one of the most colourful local Poale Zion leaders. This was Dr. [[Lewis Rifkind]], a general practitioner who moved to Glasgow in 1932. Rifkind was born in 1892. He had been associated with the Poale Zion since his days at university in Edinburgh where he had met Dr. [[M.T. Mann]] (husband of WIZO-founder [[Selma Mann]]). In 1918 Rifkind wrote a rather utopian pamphlet called “Zionism and Socialism”175 for the organisation in which he based his hope for Jewish national autonomy on the help of the “future International” and the Jewish “masses” rather than on the Jewish establishment. After his studies he opened a medical practice in a mining village. By 1930 he wrote for the Jewish Leader using the pen-name “Label” and later switched to the Jewish Echo for which he wrote a column until he fell out with editor Golombok over the Poale Zion issue. Rifkind died on 24th December 1937, aged 45<ref>176</ref>.<ref>Braber, p.272-3.</ref>
 
*1930s - 'The relation between Poale Zion and Labour in general was not always easy and the Zionist group did not follow Labour blindly, but serious problems arose for Poale Zion after the publication of the Labour government’s White Paper in 1930 which followed the troubles in Palestine and opposed to limit Jewish immigration into Palestine172. Although the Poale Zion and many Labour politicians quickly distanced themselves from the document, the White Paper was used as a stick to hit Poale Zion. The Jewish Echo started an anti-Labour campaign on the issue. While the Glasgow branch of the Jewish Agency, like the JNF a fundraising body in Glasgow with General Zionist leaders, was congratulated for their public support for an Unionist candidate in the East Renfrewshire by-election173in 1930, Poale Zion was accused when it supported a Labour candidate in the Whitechapel by-election during the same year. Poale Zion was blamed for supporting a Labour candidate rather than a Jewish Liberal who was known as a Zionist and therefore known as an opponent of the White Paper. Golombok, who followed the national Jewish Chronicle in his support for this Liberal Zionist, however omitted that the Labour candidate had stated that he would vote against the government if the White Paper was not amended, and it was not until after the Poale Zion had received this assurance that they gave him their support174. The affair led to some angry exchanges in the Jewish Echo. The issue brought [[Golombok]] into conflict with one of the most colourful local Poale Zion leaders. This was Dr. [[Lewis Rifkind]], a general practitioner who moved to Glasgow in 1932. Rifkind was born in 1892. He had been associated with the Poale Zion since his days at university in Edinburgh where he had met Dr. [[M.T. Mann]] (husband of WIZO-founder [[Selma Mann]]). In 1918 Rifkind wrote a rather utopian pamphlet called “Zionism and Socialism”175 for the organisation in which he based his hope for Jewish national autonomy on the help of the “future International” and the Jewish “masses” rather than on the Jewish establishment. After his studies he opened a medical practice in a mining village. By 1930 he wrote for the Jewish Leader using the pen-name “Label” and later switched to the Jewish Echo for which he wrote a column until he fell out with editor Golombok over the Poale Zion issue. Rifkind died on 24th December 1937, aged 45<ref>176</ref>.<ref>Braber, p.272-3.</ref>

Revision as of 13:09, 7 June 2025

The Glasgow branch of Poale Zion was formed in 1907, according to Braber.[1]

According to Braber:

Although Jabotinsky remained a popular figure in Glasgow[2], the influence of the State Party and revisionism in general appear to have been marginal prior to 1939. One of the Glasgow revisionists was Harry Furst, a former member of Poale Zion, who had served with Jabotinsky during the First World War in a Jewish army unit. He was joined by a small group of young people, including Harry Crivan, a scientist who after the Second World War became President of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council[3]

Timeline

  • 1930 - 'The Workers’ Circle was not able to establish a Yiddish school in Glasgow, but Yiddish was not driven out of Jewish life in the city. It was still part of Jewish working class culture. At May rallies the Labour movement invited Yiddish speakers, they had done so since the beginning of the century and continued to do this in the 1930s. On another occasion, three speakers addressed an open air meeting of the Poale Zion in August 1930. Only one of them spoke in English: Misha Louvish. The meeting was conducted in Yiddish172. In a report on a convention in Leeds in 1933, the Glasgow representative of the Workers’ Circle was able to say that a “gratifying feature had been the prevalence of Yiddish, which was spoken and understood by young and old a l i k e . ” 173.[4]
  • 1930s - 'The relation between Poale Zion and Labour in general was not always easy and the Zionist group did not follow Labour blindly, but serious problems arose for Poale Zion after the publication of the Labour government’s White Paper in 1930 which followed the troubles in Palestine and opposed to limit Jewish immigration into Palestine172. Although the Poale Zion and many Labour politicians quickly distanced themselves from the document, the White Paper was used as a stick to hit Poale Zion. The Jewish Echo started an anti-Labour campaign on the issue. While the Glasgow branch of the Jewish Agency, like the JNF a fundraising body in Glasgow with General Zionist leaders, was congratulated for their public support for an Unionist candidate in the East Renfrewshire by-election173in 1930, Poale Zion was accused when it supported a Labour candidate in the Whitechapel by-election during the same year. Poale Zion was blamed for supporting a Labour candidate rather than a Jewish Liberal who was known as a Zionist and therefore known as an opponent of the White Paper. Golombok, who followed the national Jewish Chronicle in his support for this Liberal Zionist, however omitted that the Labour candidate had stated that he would vote against the government if the White Paper was not amended, and it was not until after the Poale Zion had received this assurance that they gave him their support174. The affair led to some angry exchanges in the Jewish Echo. The issue brought Golombok into conflict with one of the most colourful local Poale Zion leaders. This was Dr. Lewis Rifkind, a general practitioner who moved to Glasgow in 1932. Rifkind was born in 1892. He had been associated with the Poale Zion since his days at university in Edinburgh where he had met Dr. M.T. Mann (husband of WIZO-founder Selma Mann). In 1918 Rifkind wrote a rather utopian pamphlet called “Zionism and Socialism”175 for the organisation in which he based his hope for Jewish national autonomy on the help of the “future International” and the Jewish “masses” rather than on the Jewish establishment. After his studies he opened a medical practice in a mining village. By 1930 he wrote for the Jewish Leader using the pen-name “Label” and later switched to the Jewish Echo for which he wrote a column until he fell out with editor Golombok over the Poale Zion issue. Rifkind died on 24th December 1937, aged 45[5].[6]
  • 1935 - 'Rifkind was able to exercise a lot of influence in the Poale Zion and especially among young Zionists. Notably, his criticism of local communal leaders appealed to young Zionists. During a lecture in the Jewish Institute in 1935 on the “Problems of young Anglo-Jewry” Rifkind spoke of it as a tragedy. The British Jewish youth was not the cream of all Jewries but the reverse. They had no dignity, no pride in their Jewishness. Young Jews showed no interest in local Jewish affairs, Rifkind said, because there was no democracy and they were not able to have a say: “At present the community is run by the rich.”183 Rifkind’s ideas provoked a confrontation between the General Zionists and the Poale Zion in the GZO. Although the GZO was in theory a representative organisation, its leadership had traditionally been in the hands of the General Zionists. The problem for those who were not General Zionists was that the GZO had affiliated to the Zionist Federation and through that body to the World Union of General Zionists. The Poale Zion action to end this situation took the shape of a revolt against the communal leadership because the leadership of the GZO was in the hands of businessmen like Nettler and Links, who had much in common with communal leaders like Bloch. At an extraordinary general meeting of the GZO in October 1935 the Poale Zion demanded that the GZO would become a non-party body. Misha Louvish, son of JewishLeader editor Nathan Louvish, moved an amendment to that effect, but this was rejected when an equal number of votes was declared for and against the amendment and chairman Nettler “unhesitatingly”184cast his vote against it. Rifkind threatened that his organisation would leave the GZO but even that did not help. After the meeting, the Poale Zion, followed by the Mizrachi, severed their ties with the organisation. This led to the formation of a new representative body, namely the Glasgow Zionist Council185. Louvish’ ideas seem to have been close to those of Rifkind. At a Poale Zion meeting he declared that “communal affairs had been too long in the hands of the ‘moneyed”’ and that it was time to ask the masses for their opinion186.[7]
  • 1935 - The Jewish Echo reported in 1935166 that during the election of 4 Glasgow representatives to the Zionist Congress in Lucerne, the General Zionists received 67.5% of the votes, Poale Zion 19.5% and the Mizrachi 13%.The British delegation consisted of 7 General Zionists, 3 Mizrachi members and 2 representatives from Poale Zion. At the Congress 450 delegates took part in the proceedings. During leadership elections at the Congress, the Poale Zion scored a victory with 57% of the votes. This suggests that the dominant element in Glasgow, as in Britain as a whole, consisted of the moderates, with the more extreme religious and Socialist elements in the minority; unlike the balance as shown at the Zionist Congress. The State Party did not participate in the Glasgow elections. Although Jabotinsky remained a popular figure in Glasgow167, the influence of the State Party and revisionism in general appear to have been marginal prior to 1939. One of the Glasgow revisionists was Harry Furst, a former member of Poale Zion, who had served with Jabotinsky during the First World War in a Jewish army unit. He was

joined by a small group of young people, including Harry Crivan, a scientist who after the Second World War became President of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council168.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ p. 263.
  2. ↑ 167. JE 3/2/1939, 10/3/1939. In 1939 he spoke at a mass meeting in the Glasgow Jewish Institute.
  3. ↑ 168. JE 5/9/1930, 17/3/1939; interview H. Crivan.
  4. ↑ Braber, p. 135
  5. ↑ 176
  6. ↑ Braber, p.272-3.
  7. ↑ Braber, 275-6.
  8. ↑ Braber, p. 271
  9. ↑ https://www.jpost.com/magazine/jews-in-kilts-376195
  10. ↑ Jewish Echo 25th April 1941
  11. ↑ The Zionist Year Book, 1952-3, p.121-2.
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