Uri Zvi Greenberg ( he, אוּרִי צְבִי גְּרִינְבֵּרְג; September 22, 1896 – May 8, 1981; also spelled Uri Zvi Grinberg) was an acclaimed Israeli poet, journalist and politician who wrote in

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 ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. Widely regarded among the greatest poets in the country's history, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cere ...

in 1957 and the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik ...

in 1947, 1954 and 1977, all for his contributions to fine literature. Following Israeli independence in 1948, he also served in the first

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with th ...

as a member of

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begi ...

Party. Greenberg's Revisionist orientation had an important influence on both his writings and his politics. Greenberg is considered to be the most significant representative of

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

in Hebrew and Yiddish literature.

Biography

Uri Zvi Greenberg was born in the Galician town

Bilyi Kamin Bilyi Kamin ( uk, Білий Камінь, pl, Biały Kamień) is a village in Zolochiv Raion in Lviv Oblast, located in western Ukraine. It belongs to Zolochiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Bilyi Kamin is located near the large ...

, in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

, into a prominent

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

family. He was raised in

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

(Lwów) where he received a traditional Jewish religious education. In 1915, he was drafted into the Austrian army and fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

. His experience at the fording of the Save River, where many of his comrades in arms died or were severely wounded, affected him deeply, and appeared in his future writings for years to come. After returning to Lemberg, he was witness to the pogroms of November 1918. Greenberg and his family miraculously escaped being shot by Polish soldiers celebrating their victory over the Ukrainians, an experience which convinced him that all Jews living in the “Kingdom of the Cross” faced physical annihilation. Greenberg moved to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

in 1920, where he wrote for the radical literary publications of young Jewish poets. After a brief stay in Berlin, he

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 residency, permanent residents or Naturalization, naturalize ...

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 i ...

(the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israel ...

) in 1923. Greenberg spent most of the 1930s in Poland, working as a Revisionist-Zionist activist until the time when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

erupted in 1939. At the outset of the war, Greenberg was able to escape and moved to Mandatory Palestine. His parents and sisters remained behind and were subsequently murdered during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...

. In 1950, Greenberg married Aliza, with whom he had three daughters and two sons. He added "Tur-Malka" to the family name, but continued to use "Greenberg" to honor family members who were murdered in the Holocaust. Greenberg was a resident of

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

Literary career

Young Greenberg was encouraged to write by Shmuel Yankev Imber, a Yiddish neo-romantic poet, and Tsevi Bikeles-Shpitser, the Yiddish theater critic who edited the local ''Tagblat.'' Some of his poems in

and

were published when he was 16. His first works were published in 1912 in the Labor Zionist weekly ''Der yudisher arbayter'' (The Jewish Laborer) in Lemberg and in Hebrew in ''

Ha-Shiloaḥ ''Ha-Shiloaḥ'' () was a Hebrew-language literary journal, founded by Ahad Ha'am and the Ahi'asaf Publishing House in 1896. He edited the journal until December 1902, whereupon it came under the editorship of historian Joseph Klausner. It ceased ...

'' (The Shiloach) in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. His first book, in Yiddish, was published in Lwów while he was fighting on the Serbian front. In 1920, Greenberg moved to Warsaw, with its lively Jewish cultural scene. He was one of the founders of

Di Chaliastre Di Chaliastre or Khalyastre (, from Polish "halastra" - gang) was a Jewish avant-garde expressionist-futuristic group of poets, who worked in Warsaw between 1919 and 1924. The poets wrote in Yiddish and published a namesake magazine. The name of ...

(literally, "the gang"), a group of young Yiddish writers that included

Melech Ravitch Zechariah Choneh Bergner () (27 November 1893 – 20 August 1976), better known by his pen name Melech Ravitch (), was a Canadian Yiddish poet and essayist. Ravitch was one of the world's leading Yiddish literary figures after the Holocaust. Hi ...

. He also edited a Yiddish literary journal, ''Albatros''. In the wake of his iconoclastic depictions of Jesus in the second issue of Albatros, particularly his prose poem ''Royte epl fun veybeymer'' (Red Apples from the Trees of Pain), the journal was banned by the Polish censors and Greenberg fled to Berlin to escape prosecution in November 1922. The magazine incorporated avant-garde elements both in content and typography, taking its cue from German periodicals like ''

Die Aktion ''Die Aktion'' ("The Action") was a German literary and political magazine, edited by Franz Pfemfert and published between 1911 and 1932 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf; it promoted literary Expressionism and stood for left-wing politics. To begin with, ' ...

'' and ''

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 and 1932. History and profil ...

''. Greenberg published the last two issues of ''Albatros'' in Berlin before renouncing European society and immigrating to Palestine in December 1923. In his early days in Palestine, Greenberg wrote for ''

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by ...

'', one of the main newspapers of the

Labour Zionist Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...

movement. In his poems and articles he warned of the fate in store for the Jews of the Diaspora. After the Holocaust, he mourned the fact that his terrible prophecies had come true. His works represent a synthesis of traditional Jewish values and an individualistic lyrical approach to life and its problems. They draw on Jewish sources such as the Bible, the Talmud and the prayer book, but are also influenced by European literature.

Literary motifs

In the second and third issues of Albatros, Greenberg invokes pain as a key marker of the modern era. This theme is illustrated in ''Royte epl fun vey beymer'' and ''Veytikn-heym af slavisher erd'' (Pain-Home on Slavic Ground).

Political activism

In 1930, Greenberg joined the Revisionist camp, representing the Revisionist movement at several Zionist congresses and in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. After the

1929 Hebron massacre The Hebron massacre refers to the killing of sixty-seven or sixty-nine Jews on 24 August 1929 in Hebron, then part of Mandatory Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by rumors that Jews were planning to seize control of the Temple Mount in ...

, he became more militant. With Abba Ahimeir and Yehoshua Yeivin, he founded '' Brit HaBirionim'', a clandestine, self-declared

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

faction of the Revisionist movement which adopted an activist policy of violating British mandatory regulations. In the early 1930s, the members of Brit Habirionim group disrupted a British-sponsored census, sounded the

shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying t ...

in prayer at the

Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...

despite a British prohibition, held a protest rally when a

British colonial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

official visited Tel Aviv, and tore down

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

flags from German offices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. When the British arrested hundreds of its members the organization effectively ceased to exist. He believed that the

was a 'tragic but almost inevitable outcome of Jewish indifference to their destiny.' As early as 1923, Greenberg "envisioned and warned of the destruction of European Jewry." Following Israeli independence in 1948, he joined

movement. In 1949, he was elected to the

first Knesset Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...

. He lost his seat in the 1951 elections. After the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Jun ...

he joined the

Movement for Greater Israel The Movement for Greater Israel ( he, התנועה למען ארץ ישראל השלמה, ''HaTenu'a Lema'an Eretz Yisrael HaSheleima'', officially called themselves in English ''Land of Israel Movement'') was a political organisation in Israel du ...

, which advocated Israeli sovereignty over the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Awards and recognition

* In 1947, 1954 and 1977, Greenberg was awarded the

for

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. * In 1957, Greenberg was awarded the

for his contribution to literature. * In 1976, the

held a special session in honor of his eightieth birthday.

Published works (in Hebrew)

*A Great Fear and the Moon (poetry), Hedim, 1925 (Eymah Gedolah Ve-Yareah) *Manhood on the Rise (poetry), Sadan, 1926 (Ha-Gavrut Ha-Olah) *A Vision of One of the Legions (poetry), Sadan, 1928 (Hazon Ehad Ha-Legionot) *Anacreon at the Pole of Sorrow (poetry), Davar, 1928 (Anacreon Al Kotev Ha-Itzavon) *House Dog (poetry), Hedim, 1929 (Kelev Bayit) *A Zone of Defense and Address of the Son-of-Blood (poetry), Sadan, 1929 (Ezor Magen Ve-Ne`um Ben Ha-Dam) *The Book of Indictment and Faith (poetry), Sadan, 1937 (Sefer Ha-Kitrug Ve-Ha-Emunah) *From the Ruddy and the Blue (poetry), Schocken, 1950 (Min Ha-Kahlil U-Min Ha-Kahol) *Streets of the River (poetry), Schocken, 1951 (Rehovot Ha-Nahar) *In the Middle of the World, In the Middle of Time (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1979 (Be-Emtza Ha-Olam, Be-Emtza Ha-Zmanim) *Selected Poems (poetry), Schocken, 1979 (Mivhar Shirim) *Complete Works of Uri Zvi Greenberg, Bialik Institute, 1991 (Col Kitvei) *'' At the Hub'', Bialik Institute, 2007 (''Ba-'avi ha-shir'')

References

External links

Collected poems and essays of Uri Zvi GreenbergUnder the Tooth of their Plow, Uri Zvi Grinberg
*

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100607040512/http://krieger.jhu.edu/jewishstudies/faculty_directory/download_resources/Stahl_GreenbergJesus.pdf Uri Zvi Before the Cross: The Figure of Jesus in the Poetry of Uri Zvi Greenberg, ''Religion & Literature'', Winter 2009, Neta Stahl]
Walt Whitman and Uri Zvi Greenberg: Voice and Dialogue, Apostrophe and Discourse, Chanita GoodblattPoetry and Prophecy: The image of the poet as a "prophet," a hero and an artist in modern Hebrew poetry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg, Uri Zvi 1896 births 1981 deaths People from Lviv Oblast Ukrainian Orthodox Jews Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Herut politicians Movement for Greater Israel politicians Israeli male poets Israeli newspaper editors Israel Prize in literature recipients Israeli Orthodox Jews Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Jewish fascists Lehi (militant group) Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Hebrew-language poets Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) 20th-century Israeli poets 20th-century male writers Far-right politics in Israel Revisionist Zionism Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works