Berl Locker (; 27 April 1887 – 1 February 1972) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician.

Biography

Born in in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), Locker was educated at a Jewish school. In 1902 he began contributing to the ''Der Yidisher Arbeiter'' newspaper, which he later became editor of.Berl Locker
Jewish Agency for Israel In 1904 he signed up to study law at

Chernivtsi University The Chernivtsi National University (named after Yuriy Fedkovych, full official title Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, ) is a public university in the city of Chernivtsi in Western Ukraine. One of the leading Ukrainian institutio ...

, and in the same year established the Flowers of Zion student union. The following year he joined

Poale Zion Poale Zion (, also romanized ''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th c ...

, and became a member of its central committee in Austria-Hungary. In 1916 he became secretary of the movement's

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

office, and later served the same role in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He represented Poale Zion at conferences for socialist parties, and between 1918 and 1928 served as secretary of the Poale Zion World Union. From 1928 until 1931 he served as Poale Zion's secretary in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1931 he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and became a member of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

board, on which he served until 1935. He also worked as a political advisor to the organisation. Between 1948 and 1956 he was chairman of the Agency's board of directors. In 1955 he was elected to the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

on the

Mapai Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...

list, but served only a single term. Locker was married to the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

poet Malka Locker. He died in 1972 at the age of 84.

Awards

* In 1968, Locker received the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award from the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. City of Jerusalem official website

References

External links

* * The personal papers of Berl Locker are kept at the
Central Zionist Archives
in Jerusalem. The notation of the record group is A263. {{DEFAULTSORT:Locker, Berl 1887 births 1972 deaths Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Chernivtsi University alumni Poale Zion politicians Polish emigrants to Israel Mapai politicians Jewish Agency for Israel Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel Burials at Mount Herzl Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959)