Herzl Rosenblum ( he, הרצל רוזנבלום, also known as Herzl Vardi, 14 August 1903 – 1 February 1991) was an Israeli journalist and politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he worked as editor of

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

for more than 35 years.

Biography

Born in Kaunas in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(today in Lithuania), Rosenblum moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

after experiencing

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and being prevented from studying law. In Vienna, he studied law and economics, gaining a PhD. He then moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he worked as an aide to

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...

, a leader of the Revisionist Zionism movement. In 1935 he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Mandate 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 i ...

and started working for the '' HaBoker'' newspaper, where he wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Herzl Vardi. In 1948 Rosenblum signed Israel's declaration of independence as a representative of the Revisionist movement. When he stepped up to sign,

Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...

leader

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...

told him "Sign Vardi, not Rosenblum", as he wanted more Hebrew names on the document.One day that shook the world
Jerusalem Post, 30 April 1998 Although Rosenblum later legally changed his name to Vardi (hence his son being named Moshe Vardi), he never used it, and later admitted that he wished he had signed as Rosenblum. The following year, Rosenblum became editor of

following the departure of

Ezriel Carlebach Ezriel Carlebach (also ''Azriel''; born Esriel Gotthelf Carlebach, he, עזריאל קרליבך, yi, עזריאל קארלעבאך; November 7, 1908 – February 12, 1956) was a leading journalist and editorial writer during the period of Jewi ...

and several other staff members to found Yedioth Maariv. He remained as editor until 1986, during which time the paper became the largest selling in the country. His son, Moshe, was later employed as editor. After his retirement he published his memoirs, ''Drops from the Sea'' ( he, טיפות מן הים, ''Tipot min HaYam'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblum, Herzl 1903 births 1991 deaths University of Vienna alumni Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli journalists Israeli opinion journalists Yedioth Ahronoth people Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery 20th-century journalists Israeli newspaper editors Lithuanian expatriates in Austria Lithuanian expatriates in the United Kingdom