Socialist Workers' Federation
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The Socialist Workers' Federation (; ; ; ) was a
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
organisation in the Salonica Vilayet of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(present-day
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
), led by Avraam Benaroya. It was an attempt at union of different nationalities' workers in Salonica within a single labor movement.


The Federation in the Ottoman Empire

Idealistic and pragmatist at the same time, Avraam Benaroya, a
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
from
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, played a leading role in the creation of the mainly Jewish ''Fédération Socialiste Ouvrière'' in Thessaloniki, in May–June 1909. His main associates were militant Sephardic Jews, Alberto Arditti, David Recanati and Joseph Hazan, as well as Bulgarians like Angel Tomov and Dimitar Vlahov. The organization took this name because, built on the federative model of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, it was conceived as a federation of separate sections, each representing the four main ethnic groups of the city:
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
s,
Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
,
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
and Turks. It initially published its literature in the languages of these four groups (i.e. Ladino, Bulgarian, Greek and Turkish, respectively) but in practice the two latter sections were under-represented if not nonexistent. The publication's title was ''Journal del Labourador'' (Ladino) - ''Amele Gazetesi'' (Ottoman Turkish). The democratic ''Fédération'' soon became, under Benaroya's leadership, the strongest socialist party in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, while the " Ottoman Socialist Party" was essentially an intellectual club, and the other socialist parties were at the same time national parties, like the
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
Greek Socialist Center, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party or the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
. It created combative trade unions, attracted important intellectuals and gained a solid base of support among Macedonian workers. By 1910, the ''Fédération'' comprised fourteen syndicates, and in 1912 it mobilized about 12,000 workers in various demonstrations. From 1910 to 1911 Benaroya edited its influential newspaper, the '' Solidaridad Ovradera'', printed in Ladino. ''Fédération'' cultivated strong links with the
Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...
and had its own representative, Saul Nahum, in the International Socialist Bureau. Unlike other parties which were organised on ethnic lines, as a cross-community group the ''Fédération'' was tolerated by the Ottoman authorities. A prominent Bulgarian member, Dimitar Vlahov, was a socialist MP in the new Ottoman parliament, which was dominated by the
Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...
(CUP) party until 1912. Indeed, its leaders initially supported the Young Turks, and Benaroya participated in the "Action Army" march on
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
to help put down the Countercoup of 1909. Alarmed by the growing power of socialist groups, the CUP subsequently launched a crackdown, during which Benaroya was jailed. In their reference book over the Balkan Jews, Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue show that the internationalist socialists of the ''Fédération'' defended the Ladino language against the Zionists, favouring
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, and the '' Alliance Israélite Universelle'', who favoured French, thus remaining in some way close to the traditional Jewish world, they represented a form of westernization without assimilation.


The Federation and the labour movement in Greece

In the aftermath of the incorporation of Thessaloniki into the Greek state during the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
, Benaroya resisted the attempts to impose ethnic divisions in the city. Opposed to the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Benaroya and another Jewish socialist were exiled for two and a half years at the island of
Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...
. In contrast to most of the prominent socialists in the pre-1913 Greece who followed Eleftherios Venizelos, Benaroya and the ''Fédération'', adhering to its internationalist ideals, mobilized for neutrality. As this happened to be the same policy pursued by King
Constantine I of Greece Constantine I (, Romanization, romanized: ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and again from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army dur ...
and his militaristic entourage (see National Schism), it led to the loss of support for the ''Fédération'' in Macedonia. After the departure of its Slavic element, the ''Fédération'' was numerically dominated by Jews. From 1915 onwards the ''Fédération'' was buoyed by the popular reaction to the war. Both monarchist and Venizelist policy actually assisted the emancipation and the radicalization of the left, and Benaroya, keeping equal distance from both established political groups, was quick to turn the situation to advantage. In the May 1915 general elections the ''Fédération'' sent two deputies representing Thessaloniki to the Greek Parliament, while it lost by only a few votes for a third seat. It already had strong links with internationalist groups and organizations all over Greece and abroad; from them the Socialist Workers' Party was to spring up in due time.Benbassa, Esther, and Rodrigue, Aaron: ''Historia de los judíos sefardíes. De Toledo a Salónica''. Abada, Madrid, 2004 , pp. 308-310. However, another socialist faction, headed by the future Prime Minister Alexandros Papanastasiou, who sided with Venizelos in foreign affairs, also had deputies elected in the same election. Papanastasiou and other reform-minded socialists strongly supported Venizelos' liberal brand of nationalism. Benaroya and the ''Fédération'', on the other hand, were influenced by Austromarxists such as Victor Adler,
Otto Bauer Otto Bauer (; 5 September 1881 – 4 July 1938) was an Austrian politician who was one of the founders and leading thinkers of the Austromarxists who sought a middle ground between social democracy and revolutionary socialism. He was a member of t ...
and Karl Renner, who, sensitive to matters national, searched ways to utilize socialism as a cohesive force for the decrepit
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
; they elaborated the principle of personal autonomy, according to which national consciousness should be depoliticized and become a personal matter. Modern states should be based on free association and allow self-definition and self-organization of ethnicities in cultural affairs, while a mixed parliament, proportionally representing all nations of the realm, should decide on economic and political questions. The ''Fédération'' traced the origins of its federative position in Balkan authors of the Enlightenment like Rigas Velestinlis, and stressed that the forthcoming peace should exclude any change of borders or transfer of populations. The Socialist Labour Party of Greece (later renamed as Communist Party of Greece, KKE), created by Benaroya's initiative near the end of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, followed closely the ''Fédérations theses on national
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
, and wanted to transform the Greek state into a federation of autonomous provinces that would safeguard the rights of minorities and participate in a federative Republic of the Balkan peoples.


References


Sources


H. Şükrü Ilicak (September 2002). "Jewish Socialism in Ottoman Salonica"
Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 2 (3): 115–146. ISSN 1468-3857
Iakovos J. Aktsoglou, ''The emergence / development of social and working class movement in the city of Thessaloniki (working associations and labor unions)''
“Balkan Studies”, Thessaloniki, Vol. 38, No. 2, 1997, pp. 285–306.
Joshua Starr, ''The Socialist Federation of Saloniki'', Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct. 1945), pp. 323-336

Abraham Benaroya, ''A Note on "The Socialist Federation of Saloniki"'', Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan. 1949), pp. 69-72
* Nicole Cohen-Rak, ''La "Solidaridad ovradera", journal socialiste judéo-espagnol de Salonique, 1911: édition de 7 numéros, traductions, index divers, considérations linguistiques'', Vol. 1 and 2, Université de Paris III, 1986. {{DEFAULTSORT:Socialist Workers' Federation Jewish socialism Political parties in the Ottoman Empire Defunct socialist parties in Europe Ottoman Thessalonica 20th century in Thessaloniki Defunct political parties in Greece Defunct socialist parties in Greece 1909 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Jewish Greek history category:Jews and Judaism in Thessaloniki Politics of Thessaloniki Socialism in the Ottoman Empire