David Lvovich (1882-1950), known by the pseudonym Davidovich, was a Russian-Jewish politician. Lvovich was one of the main leaders of the

Zionist Socialist Workers Party Zionist-Socialist Workers Party (), often referred to simply as Zionist-Socialists or S.S. by their Russian initials, was a Jewish territorialist and socialist political party in the Russian Empire and Poland, that emerged from the ''Vozrozhdenie ...

(SS). He was born in southern Russia. Lvovich's involvement in radical politics began in 1903, as after a visit to

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 ...

where he acquinted the

Poalei 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 ce ...

movement. He visited Palestine in 1905, and following this visit he embraced

territorialism Territorialism can refer to: * Animal territorialism, the animal behavior of defending a geographical area from intruders * Environmental territorialism, a stance toward threats posed toward individuals, communities or nations by environmental even ...

. He became a member of the SS

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Party Committee and led the SS Self-Defense Unit during the October 1905 pogrom. In 1907 Lvovich represented SS at the congress of 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 ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. In 1908 he and other SS leaders settled in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where they formed a commune of sorts (nick-named 'the hunger commune' due to their limited resources). Lvovich stayed 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 ...

during 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 ...

, but returned to Russia to contest the

1917 Russian Constituent Assembly election Elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly were held on 25 November 1917. Organized as a result of events in the February Revolution, the elections took place two months after they had been originally meant to occur. They are generally recogni ...

. Lvovich, now a leader of the

United Jewish Socialist Workers Party United Jewish Socialist Workers Party (, ''fareynikte yidishe sotsialistishe arbeter-partey'') was a political party that emerged in Russia in the wake of the 1917 February Revolution. Members of the party along with the Poalei Zion participated ...

(''Fareynikte''), was elected as a deputy from the Kherson constituency as a candidate on the Socialist-Revolutionary list. Moving away from partisan politics, Lvovich opted for concentrating his energies to build the ORT movement in Russia. In 1919 he left Russia and together with Leon Bramson he sought to build the ORT movement internationally. Lvovich moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1921. In 1921 he co-founded the

World ORT ORT (), also known as the Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training, is a global education network driven by Jewish values. It promotes education and training in communities worldwide. Its activities throughout its history have spanned mor ...

. In 1932 he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he stayed until 1939, after which he emigrated to the

. In 1937 he became the Vice Chairman of World ORT, in 1946 becoming its co-president. In the aftermath of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Lvovich organized occupational training activities in displaced persons' camps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lvovich, David 1882 births 1950 deaths Russian Jews Zionist Socialist Workers Party politicians