Joseph Massel (also Yoysef Yechezkel Mazl), born in Wjasin near

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

, Russia, 1850; Manchester, 1912) was a

Zionist 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 Je ...

activist, writer, Hebrew poet and translator.

Biography

Massel emigrated from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England in 1895 where he worked as a printer. Massel was a pioneer in the promotion of Hebrew as the national language, publishing works by

Israel Cohen Israel Cohen may refer to: * Israel Cohen (footballer), Israeli footballer *''A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century'', a hoax document supposedly written by an "Israel Cohen" in 1912 *Israel Cohen (Zionist) Israel Cohen (1879 – 26 Novembe ...

and

Harry Sacher Harry Sacher (3 September 1881 – 10 May 1971) was a British businessman, journalist, and Zionism, Zionist leader. He was appointed director of Marks & Spencer in 1932. Early life and education Sacher was born in Shoreditch, Middlesex, the ...

among others. He wrote Hebrew poems and translated English classics into Hebrew, including Milton's Samon Agonistes, Longfellow's Judas Maccabaeus and Fitzgerald's Omar Khayyam. He also spent two years preparing a unique collection of 94 portraits called ''A Gallery of Hebrew Poets; 1725–1903''. By the time

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...

arrived in Manchester in 1904, Massel was living in a small street of the lower end of Cheetham Hill Road (where his Hebrew printing works was based) across from Red Bank and not far from the Central Synagogue. He was much part of Manchester's Zionist community and was a vice-president of the Manchester Zionist Association. At that time he was the only person Weizmann knew in Manchester. Massel attended the First Zionist Congress (Basle, 1897) and had probably met Weizmann at the Second Zionist Congress (Basle, 1898). Showing Weizmann hospitality he never forgot, Massel collected him from the train station, put him up for the night and arranged lodgings for him the next day.Rabinowicz, Oskar Kwasnik (1952). ''Fifty Years of Zionism''. R. Anscombe, p. 61. Massel also introduced Weizmann to

Charles Dreyfus Charles Dreyfus (b. Alsace, 1848 - d. Menton, France, 11 December 1935) was President of the Manchester Zionist Society, a member of Manchester City Council and a leading figure in the East Manchester Conservative Association during the time that ...

.Razzūq, Asʻad (1970). ''Greater Israel: A Study in Zionist Expansionist Thought''. Palestine Liberation Organization, Research Center, p. 120. Weizmann was later to refer to Massel as a "veritable angel" and described his Friday evening visits to the Massel household as "the highlights of my life".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massel, Joseph 1850 births 1912 deaths British Jews British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent British people of Russian-Jewish descent Hebrew-language poets Lithuanian Jews Russian Jews Zionist activists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom