Gershom Gustav Schocken ( he, גרשום גוסטב שוקן, 29 September 1912 20 December 1990) was an Israeli journalist and politician who was editor of ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'' for more than 50 years and a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Italy ...

between 1955 and 1959.

Biography

Gustav (Gershom) Schocken was born in

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, to Zerline "Lilli" ( Ehrmann) and

Salman Schocken Salman Schocken or Shlomo Zalman Schocken ( he, שלמה זלמן שוקן) (October 30, 1877 August 6, 1959) was a German Jewish publisher, and co-founder of the large Kaufhaus Schocken chain of department stores in Germany. Stripped of his citi ...

, a

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

. He studied at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. While in Heidelberg, he befriended fellow student Walter Gross, whom he would later work with for decades at ''

''. Following

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's rise to power, he made aliyah to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1933 one year before the rest of his family, and got a job at

Anglo-Palestine Bank Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...

, where he remained until 1936. Schocken was married to Shulamit Parsitz, daughter of

General Zionists The General Zionists ( he, הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים, translit. ''HaTzionim HaKlaliym'') were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann an ...

Shoshana Parsitz Rosalia Gillelovna "Shoshana" Persitz (née Zlatopolsky; 16 November 1892 – 22 March 1969), also known as Shoshana Persitz ( he, שושנה פרסיץ), was a Zionist activist, educator and Israeli politician. Biography Rosalia Gillelovna Zlato ...

, and had three children,

Amos Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...

(the current publisher of Haaretz), Hillel (an architect) and Racheli Edelman. He died of liver cancer at the

Sheba Medical Center Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer ( he, המרכז הרפואי ע"ש חיים שיבא – תל השומר), also Tel HaShomer Hospital, is the largest hospital in Israel, located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan at Tel HaShome ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

on 20 December 1990 at the age of 78.Gershom Schocken; Israeli Editor Urged Civil Rights
LA Times, 25 December 1990

Media and literary career

In 1939 he became editor of the ''

'' newspaper, which had been bought by his father Salman two years earlier. He remained editor of the paper until his death in 1990. In 1950 he was amongst the founders of the

ITIM ''Itim'' (Filipino for "black"), released overseas as ''The Rites of May'', is a 1976 Filipino thriller film and the directorial debut of Mike de Leon, with a screenplay by Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. and Gil Quito. The film stars Tommy Abuel as ...

news agency. Schocken also published poetry in German, English and Hebrew under the penname Robert Pozen, as well as publishing a book, ''Poems for Times of Celebration'' in 1969. In 1983 he was named

International Editor of the Year Award {{no footnotes, date=January 2019 ''International Editor of the Year Award'' is a prize awarded yearly to journalists and press editors outside the United States by World Press Review ( Worldpress.org) magazine. The award has been presented by Wor ...

by the

World Press Review ''World Press '' (Worldpress.org) is an independent, nonpartisan New York based magazine founded in 1974 and initially published by Stanley Foundation and Teri Schure, with an online edition which was launched in 1997. The headquarters of the ...

for Haaretz's "excellence in coverage of Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982". He often signed his articles using the pseudonym "Ben-Dam," literally "Son of Blood."The Dissenter

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

Political career

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the Progressive Party list, and served on the House Committee, the Economic Affairs Committee and the Labor Committee. He quit politics and lost his seat in the 1959 elections.Gershom G. Schocken, 78, Editor Of Israeli Newspaper for 50 Years
New York Times, 24 December 1990

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schocken, Gershom 1912 births 1990 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine People from Zwickau Heidelberg University alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Israeli bankers Israeli journalists Israeli poets Israeli publishers (people) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Yishuv journalists Progressive Party (Israel) politicians 20th-century poets Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery 20th-century journalists