The Jewish Socialist Verband (JSV) was a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

Jewish

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-oriented organization founded in the United States of America in 1921 as a result of a political split in the

Jewish Socialist Federation The Jewish Socialist Federation (JSF) was a secular Jewish Yiddish-oriented organization founded in 1912 which acted as a language federation in the Socialist Party of America (SPA). Many of the founding members of the JSF had previously been memb ...

(JSF) regarding the Federation's position in support of the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

. With the disaffiliation of the JSF from the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

in 1921, the minority opposed to this formed the JSV, which became the SPA's Jewish

language federation Language federations were formed in the late 19th and early 20th century by immigrants to the United States, primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe, who shared a commitment to some form of socialist politics. Some of these groups joined the So ...

. Prominent members of the JSV at its foundation included

Jacob Panken Jacob Panken (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was an American socialist politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York municipal judge and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket of the Socialist Party of Ame ...

Otto Branstetter Otto Franklin Branstetter (1877–1924) was an American socialist official. Branstetter served as executive secretary of National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of America from 1919 until shortly before his death in 1924. Branstetter wa ...

Benjamin Feigenbaum Benjamin Feigenbaum (August 12, 1860 – November 10, 1932) was a Polish-born Jewish socialist, newspaper editor, translator, and satirist. Feigenbaum was an associate editor of the Yiddish language ''The Forward'', its predecessor ''Di Arbe ...

, Charles Solomon,

Baruch Charney Vladeck Baruch Charney Vladeck (born Baruch Nachman Charney; January 13, 1886 – October 30, 1938) was an American labor leader, manager of ''The Jewish Daily Forward'' for twenty years, and a member of the New York City Council. Biography Early years ...

Alexander Kahn Alexander Kahn (May 31, 1881 – March 11, 1962) was an American lawyer and newspaper publisher. Early life and education Kahn was born on May 31, 1881 in Smolensk, Russia, the son of Solomon and B. Lena Ben Zionoff. He immigrated to America in ...

and

Abraham Cahan Abraham "Abe" Cahan (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם קאַהאַן; July 7, 1860 – August 31, 1951) was a Lithuanian-born Jewish American socialist newspaper editor, novelist, and politician. Cahan was one of the founders of ''The Forward'' (), a ...

(editor of the ''

Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a American Jews, Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialis ...

''). In 1936 when the Socialist Party split, the JSV joined the "Old Guard"

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

. In 1957 when the SDF reunited with the Socialist Party the JSV and the SDFs largest local, New York, opposed this and founded the

Democratic Socialist Federation The Democratic Socialist Federation was founded by members of the Social Democratic Federation who had opposed the latter's 1956 reunification with the Socialist Party of America in 1956. The Federation merged with the Socialist Party in March ...

. In 1972 the DSF and the Socialist Party merged, with the JSV finally re-affiliating with the Socialist Party. The JSV remained affiliated with the Socialist party's legal successor group, the

Social Democrats USA Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's n ...

. It still was in existence at least until the early 1980s.

References

Publications

*Hertz, J. S. (Jacob Sholem), 1893
די יידישע סאציאליסטישע באוועגונג אין אמעריקע Di ''Yidishe sotsyalisṭishe baṿegung in Ameriḳe: 70 yor sotsyalisṭishe ṭeṭiḳayṭ, 30 yor Yidisher Sotsyalisṭisher Farband''
{{Authority control Bundism in North America Jewish political parties Factions of the Socialist Party of America Jewish-American political organizations Political parties established in 1921 Jewish socialism Secular Jewish culture in the United States Yiddish culture in the United States 1921 establishments in the United States 1980s disestablishments in the United States