Robert Szold (1889–1977) was a 20th-century American lawyer, best known as a champion for the reform of child labor law and as a Zionist movement leader as well as a founding partner of Szold, Brandwen, Meyers and Altern (1918).
[
][
]
Background
Robert Szold was born on September 29, 1889, in
Streator, Illinois
Streator is a city in LaSalle and Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. As of the 2020 censu ...
. His parents were merchants: Adolph Szold of Berehove, Zakarpatska, Ukraine, and Rachel Esther Gumbiner of Poland. He had three siblings. In 1909, he received a BA from
Knox College. In 1912, he received a law degree with honors from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Career
In 1915, Szold was appointed Assistant Attorney General of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
under United States Solicitor General
John W. Davis
John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...
until 1918. A brief that Szold wrote at that time led to the first-ever U.S. federal child labor law.
In 1918, Szold returned to private practice and helped found the law firm of Szold, Brandwen, Meyers and Altman. (At some time during the early 1920s, the firm was known as
Lowenthal, Szold and
Brandwen of 43 Exchange Place, New York City.
[
][
] Lowenthal (1888–1971) became a director of the
Amalgamated Bank
Amalgamated Bank () is an American financial institution. It is the largest union-owned bank and one of the only unionized banks in the United States. Amalgamated Bank is currently majority-owned by Workers United, an SEIU Affiliate.
Founded on ...
and, later, a close advisor to U.S. President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
.
[
] Brandwen (1896–1986) became general counsel to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and a managing director of Amalgamated Bank.) His clients included the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Indus ...
, led by
Sidney Hillman
Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor' ...
. He also served as president of the
United Housing Foundation {{unreferenced, date=September 2019
The United Housing Foundation (UHF) was a real estate investment trust in New York that constructed numerous cooperative housing projects, including Rochdale Village in Queens and Co-op City in the Bronx.
Pu ...
.
In 1919, Szold became friends with United States Supreme Court Justice
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.
Starting in 1890, he helped develop the "right to privacy" concept ...
. That year, he also traveled to British
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
as a member of the
Zionist Commission
Zionist Commission for Palestine was a commission chaired by Chaim Weizmann, president of the British Zionist Federation following British promulgation of the pro-Zionist, Balfour Declaration. The Commission was formed in March 1918 and went to ...
with his friend
Harry Friedenwald.
In 1920, he traveled to London with
Július Šimon
Július Šimon (born 19 July 1965) is a former Slovak football player. He previously played for FC Spartak Trnava, Austria Wien and DAC Dunajská Streda. He also played for Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Repu ...
and
Nehemia de Lieme as a member of the Reorganization Committee. Around that time, he found himself ousted as part of the Brandeis-
Mack faction by
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 ...
faction.
In 1930, the Brandeis-Mack faction returned to power, and Szold became chairman of the
Zionist Organization of America
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 ...
through 1932. In this position, he drafted the certificate of incorporation of the Palestine Endowment Funds, Inc., for the
Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
.
In 1937, Szold opposed the
partition of Palestine
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...
.
In 1942, Szold became treasurer and chairman of the budget committee of the
American Emergency Committee for Zionist Affairs.
In 1943, Szold became the first American Zionist leader to visit the British Mandate of Palestine since the United States of America entered World War II.
In 1945, Szold began serving as chairman of the board of the
Palestine Economics Corporation through 1960.
In 1946, at the 22nd
World Zionist Congress
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...
, Szold supported Weizmann (against
Abba Hillel Silver
Abba Hillel Silver (January 28, 1893 – November 28, 1963) was an American Rabbi and Zionist leader. He was a key figure in the mobilization of American support for the founding of the State of Israel, though he saw such a settlement as a m ...
) to negotiate with the British.
In addition to the above organizations, Szold served as a director for the Riverbay Corporation, East River Housing Corporation, and
Edward A. Filene
Edward Albert Filene (September 3, 1860 – September 26, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for building the Filene's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the Un ...
Good Will Fund. He was also an officer of the
Hillman Housing Corporation and vice chairman of Council of Jewish Agency
Personal life and death
On September 4, 1917, Szold married
Zip Falk. They had four daughters: Miriam, Ruth, Betty, and Joan.
Szold was a third cousin of
Henrietta Szold, whose father was Rabbi
Benjamin Szold.
Szold died age 88 on November 9, 1977 in New York City at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.
Awards
* 1956/1966: Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
* 1966:
Solomon Bublick Award The Solomon Bublick Award (Solomon Bublick Public Service Award or Solomon Bublick Prize) is an award made by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to a person who has made an important contribution to the advancement and development of the State of I ...
* 1972: Honorary Juris Doctor from Hebrew University
Legacy
In April 1966, the Hebrew University opened the Robert Szold Institute of Applied Science in his name. The Palestine Endowment Funds, Inc., of which he was president, endowed the institute with $500,000.
Louis Mintz, an Anglo-Jewish philanthropist, was believed to have donated more than $250,000 anonymously.
[
]
Works
* ''The Proposed Partition of Palestine'' (1937)
* ''Zionism: Its Cardinal Principle'' (address at the joint session of the Convention of the Zionist Organization of America and of
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America
Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with nearly 300,000 members in the Uni ...
) (1942)
* ''War time Palestine'' (1944)
* ''The State of Israel in International Law: A Historical Survey'' (1958)
* ''A Galaxy of American Zionist Rishonim: Dr. Harry Friedenwald'' (1962)
* ''77 Great Russell Street: Recollections of Robert Szold'' (1967)
[
]
References
External sources
New York Times image of Szold
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szold, Robert
1889 births
1977 deaths
Jewish American trade unionists
20th-century American lawyers
Lawyers from New York City
Harvard Law School alumni
Knox College (Illinois) alumni
Trade unionists from Illinois
People from Streator, Illinois
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
American Zionists
Jewish American attorneys