Jessie Sampter (March 22, 1883 – 1938) was a Jewish educator, poet, and Zionist pioneer. She was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

in 1919.

Biography

Jessie Ethel Sampter was born in

to Rudolph Sampter, a New York attorney, and Virginia Kohlberg Sampter, who maintained an assimilated Jewish home. She had one sister, Elvie. At the age of thirteen she was crippled by

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

which prevented her from leaving home. Since she was unable to attend school her family hired tutors. Later she audited courses at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. In her twenties she joined the Unitarian Church and began writing poetry. Her poems and short stories emphasized her primary concerns:

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, 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 ...

, and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

. Around this time, she began spending time in the home of

Henrietta Szold Henrietta Szold ( , ; December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Palestine dedic ...

and began to appreciate the Eastern European Jews of New York City. She moved into a

settlement house The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, then to a

Young Women's Hebrew Association A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, ...

Zionist activism

Assuming the role of Hadassah's leading educator, she produced manuals and textbooks and organized lectures and classes. She led Hadassah's School of Zionism, training speakers and leaders for both Hadassah and other Zionist organizations like the

Federation of American Zionists The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) () is an American non-profit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th centur ...

(then the Zionist Organization of America). She composed educational manuals with

Alice Seligsberg Alice Lillie Seligsberg (August 8, 1873 – August 27, 1940) was an American Zionist, social worker, and president of Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America from 1921 to 1923. Early life and education Alice Seligsberg was born on August 8 ...

and edited a textbook on Zionism. In 1919 she settled in

where she helped organize the country's first Jewish Scout camp. Sampter developed a strong commitment to assisting

Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...

, founding classes and clubs especially for Yemenite girls and women who often received no education. She adopted a Yemenite foundling and raised her with progressive education. Sampter died at

Beilinson Hospital Rabin Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי רבין) is a major hospital and medical center located in Petah Tikva, Israel. It is owned and operated by Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest health maintenance organization. In January 1996, ...

at 10:00 am on Friday 25 November 1938 of malaria and heart disease and was buried at Givat Brenner the following Sunday afternoon, 27 November. At the time of her death she had established a vegetarian convalescent home at

Kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Givat Brenner Givat Brenner ( he, גִּבְעַת בְּרֶנֶר, lit. ''Brenner Hill''; ar, غفعات برينر), is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located around south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional ...

. Szold presided at her funeral.

Legacy

Sampter is one of several popular 'philosophers' whose quotations appear on the roadsigns of Project HIMANK in the

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

region of northern India. Photo of one such sign

Published works

*''The Seekers'' (1910) *''Nationalism and Universal Brotherhood'' (1914) *''A Course in Zionism'' (1915) *''The Books of Nations'' (1917) *''The Coming of Peace''(1919) *''Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child'' (1920) *''The Emek'' (1927) *''Modern Palestine: A Symposium'' (1933) *''Brand Plucked from the Fire'' (1937) *''Far Over the Sea: Poems and Jingles for Children'' by H.N. Bialik, translated by Jessie Sampter (1939)

References

External links