The Pioneers of Liberty (Pionire der Frayhayt) was the first Jewish anarchist organization in the United States. The group was known for its Yiddish-language publications and antireligious social events, such as

Yom Kippur balls The Yom Kippur balls were countercultural, antireligious festivities held by Jewish anarchists and socialists on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year and day of atonement. Revelers sang, danced, ate, and heard speeches from famous anar ...

. Their club's model was replicated in major cities of the Eastern seaboard.

History

The

Haymarket trial The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in ...

of 1886 sparked nationwide interest in anarchist ideas. On the day of the trial's sentencing, about a dozen Jewish workers of New York's

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 ...

founded the Pioneers of Liberty, the first Jewish anarchist organization in the United States. What started as the work of militants soon attracted members who would become noteworthy speakers and writers:

David Edelstadt David Edelstadt (Yiddish: דוד עדעלשטאַט; May 9, 1866, Kaluga, Russia – 17 October 1892, Denver, Colorado) was a Jewish, Russian-American anarchist poet in the Yiddish language. Edelstadt immigrated to Cincinnati and worked as a b ...

Moshe Katz Moshe Katz (1885–1960) was an anarchist and translator of multiple anarchist classics: '' Conquest of Bread'', '' Moribund Society and Anarchy'', and '' Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist''. He was an editor of the Yiddish-language anarchist newsp ...

, Roman Lewis,

Hillel Solotaroff Hillel Solotaroff (1865–1921) was a doctor known for his leadership in the New York Jewish/Yiddish anarchist movement. Solotaroff emigrated from Elizabetgrad in 1882 and while he pursued medical school, wrote for anarchist publications and w ...

, and

Saul Yanovsky Saul Yanovsky (1864–1939) was an American anarchist and activist. He is best remembered as the editor of the periodicals ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme'' (1890–1977), Arbeter Fraynd (1885-1914), '' Di Abend Tsaytung'' (1906) and the monthly literary ...

Alexander Berkman Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870June 28, 1936) was a Russian-American anarchist and author. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. B ...

became another famous member. Many were in their mid-20s or earlier and together, their combined vim and oratory ability influenced immigrants of their neighborhood. The group was among the anarchist movement's most impactful. The Pioneers first organized around the Haymarket defendants, circulating propaganda among Jewish workers on the Lower East Side. The group ran ''Varhayt'', a short-lived, first Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper in the United States, between February and June 1889. And together with the Jewish anarchist Knights of Liberty group, which sprang from the Pioneers of Liberty, the two organizations together founded the long-running Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper, ''

Fraye Arbeter Shtime ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme'' ( yi, פֿרייע אַרבעטער שטימע, romanized: ''Fraye arbeṭer shṭime'', ''lit.'' 'Free Voice of Labor') was a Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper published from New York City's Lower East Side betwe ...

'', in 1890. The Pioneers of Liberty also published an annual paper, ''Tfileh Zakeh'' (Pure Prayer), which circulated during the Jewish

High Holy Days The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...

between 1889 and 1893. The Pioneers were defiantly antireligious. They eschewed religious tradition while retaining their secular Jewish identity. Beginning in 1889, they began hosting

, which featured blasphemous revelry on the holiest, most somber Jewish

day of atonement Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

. In this way, the Pioneers contributed towards a Jewish counterculture, with social events like picnics and concerts. The Chicago

International Working People's Association The International Working People's Association (IWPA), sometimes known as the "Black International," was an international anarchist political organization established in 1881 at a convention held in London, England. In America the group is best ...

, with whom the Pioneers were affiliated, worked similarly. In turn, the Pioneers of Liberty club was a prototype that would be replicated in other major cities of the Eastern seaboard.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Portal bar, Anarchism, Judaism, New York City Anarchism in New York (state) Jewish anarchism Organizations established in 1886 Jewish organizations based in the United States Jews and Judaism in New York (state)