Jacques Torczyner (July 8, 1914–March 7, 2013) was a leader in the American and international

Zionist movement Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...

. He was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, in 1914 and emigrated to the United States in 1940, escaping Belgium after the Nazi invasion. He became a member of the Zionist Organization of America ("ZOA"). He joined 18

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

leaders at a special meeting in July 1945 called by

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 name ...

organizing the Friends of the Haganah to organize support for the Jewish defense forces in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. He was active in the campaign for the creation of the Jewish State led by

Abba Hillel Silver Abba Hillel Silver (January 28, 1893 – November 28, 1963) was an American Rabbi and Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support fo ...

and took on additional responsibility when Silver became the President of ZOA. After the founding of the State of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, he was a member of the Rifkind Committee and various Special Committees of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

charged with evaluating the future of the Zionist movement. Torczyner served five consecutive terms as president of the ZOA. From 1974 to 1977 he was chairman of the American section of the World Jewish Congress. From 1972 till 1998 he was member of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization in charge of its Foreign Relations Department and the Herzl Institute, the adult education Institute of the World Zionist Movement. He was also appointed a member of the American UNESCO Committee, and served on the Holderman Committee, which recommended that the United States should leave UNESCO. Later, he was appointed a special advisor to the Director General of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Federico Mayor Federico Mayor Zaragoza (born 27 January 1934 in Barcelona) is a Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat, and poet. He served as director-general of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999. He is currently the chairman of the Foundation for a Culture of ...

. Torczyner widely lectured around the world and wrote articles on issues faced by the State of Israel and World Jewry. He was the nephew of

Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai ( he, נפתלי הרץ טור-סיני; born 13 November 1886 – 17 October 1973) was a Bible scholar, author, and linguist instrumental in the revival of the Hebrew language as a modern, spoken language. Tur-Sinai was the f ...

. His papers are archived at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. Torczyner died on March 7, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torczyner, Jacques 1914 births 2013 deaths Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism American Zionists Belgian emigrants to the United States Belgian Jews Politicians from Antwerp Belgian Zionists