Morris Winchevsky (

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 ve ...

: מאָריס װינטשעװסקי; born as Leopold Benzion Novokhovitch; August 9 1856–March 18 1932), also known as Ben Netz, was a prominent

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 ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

leader in

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 ...

and the United States in the late 19th century. Born in Jonava,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, in 1856, Winchevsky later moved to London where, already a well known socialist, he founded the '' Der Poylisher Yidl'' (The Little Polish Jew), one of the first

daily socialist newspapers; and the '' Arbeter Fraynd'', the first Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper.

In the US

After immigrating to

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 ...

, Winchevsky joined with

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'' (), ...

and Louis Miller, two other prominent New York Jewish socialists, to found what would later become the largest

-language daily newspaper in the world, ''

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

'' in 1897. This got them kicked out of the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

. They would later migrate to the

Social Democracy of America The Social Democracy of America (SDA), later known as the Cooperative Brotherhood, was a short lived political party in the United States that sought to combine the planting of an intentional community with political action in order to create a s ...

, the

Social Democratic Party of America The Social Democratic Party of America (SDP) was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1898. The group was formed out of elements of the Social Democracy of America (SDA) and was a predecessor to the Socialist Party o ...

and 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 ...

. Winchevsky wrote parodies directed to Jews of the Pale of Settlement in hopes of creating class consciousness. Winchevsky was later selected as the representative of 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 me ...

to the

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...

when the AJC met to select its delegates to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. At the meeting of the Congress, Winchevsky was publicly censured by the JSF for expressing

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 ...

sentiments. He was subsequently associated with the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Rev ...

and its Yiddish daily '' Morgen Freiheit''. Morris Winchevsky grave

Winchevsky died on March 18, 1932, and is buried in the Workmen's Circle section of Mount Carmel Cemetery, alongside other Jewish socialist leaders.

Poetry

Winchevsky is known for his role in the development of Yiddish

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

. Notably, he was a member of the Proletarian Poets, an association formed with Winchevsky, Morris Rosenfeld, David Edelstadt, and Joseph Bovshover.

Tributes

A "secular humanist" Jewish Sunday school in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, was named after Winchevsky. Founded in 1928, the

Morris Winchevsky School The Morris Winchevsky School (founded in 1928) is a supplemental Jewish school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The focus of the curriculum is on strengthening ties to Jewish culture and heritage within a secular humanist framework. Key focuses are Tik ...

is run by the United Jewish People's Order.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winchevsky, Morris 1856 births 1932 deaths People from Jonava People from Kovensky Uyezd Lithuanian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Members of the Socialist Labor Party of America Social Democratic Party of America politicians Members of the Socialist Party of America American Marxists Jewish American writers Jewish socialists Yiddish-language satirists lt:Moris Winczewski pl:Moris Winczewski

In the US

Poetry

Tributes

References

Further reading

External links