Abraham Harawitz (May 8, 1879 – May 24, 1935) was a Russian-born Jewish-American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York.

Life

Harawitz was born on May 8, 1879, in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the son of Moses and Mollie Harawitz. He immigrated to America when he was seven and grew up on the

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. Historically, it w ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After attending public school, Harawitz studied in the College of the City of New York from 1895 to 1898. He then went to the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, graduating from there with an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1900. After graduating, he worked as a lawyer in New York City, with an office in 7 Beekman Street. Harawitz joined the Tammany Hall Club of the Eighth Assembly District immediately after he was admitted to the bar and became active in

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

. In 1905, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, representing the

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

8th District. He was elected over Louis Freidel and

Jacob Panken Jacob Panken (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was a Ukrainian-born Jewish-American socialist politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York City municipal court judge and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket ...

. He served in the Assembly in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

and

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

. In the latter year, he had been elected with support from the

Independence League The Independence Party, established as the Independence League, was a short-lived minor United States, American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor ...

. He refused to serve a third term in the Assembly. He was a delegate to the 1915 New York State Constitutional Convention. By then, he had a law office on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. In 1927, Harawitz was elected Justice of the Municipal Court over

. He was still serving as Justice when he died. Upon his death, Mayor La Guardia appointed

Louis J. Lefkowitz Louis J. Lefkowitz (July 3, 1904 – June 20, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the Attorney General of New York State for 22 years. He was a Republican. Early life and education Lefkowitz was born to a Jewish family ...

to replace him to the Municipal Court. Harawitz was married to Nettie Zolty. Their children were Howard L. and Milton. Harawitz died in his apartment in the Broadway Central Hotel from a two-week illness on May 24, 1935. He was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Harawitz, Abraham 1879 births 1935 deaths Politicians from Minsk American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Jews from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States People from the Lower East Side City College of New York alumni New York University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New York City Politicians from Manhattan United States Independence Party politicians Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Jewish state legislators in New York (state) 20th-century New York state court judges New York state court judges Burials at Mount Zion Cemetery (New York City) 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature