The ''Der Poylisher Yidl'' (, ''The Little Polish Jew'') was one of the first

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 ...

periodicals in 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 ...

language and Britain's first socialist paper targeting an immigrant audience. It was founded on 25 July 1884 by socialist

Morris Winchevsky Morris Winchevsky (Yiddish: מאָריס װינטשעװסקי; born as Leopold Benzion Novokhovitch; August 9 1856–March 18 1932), also known as Ben Netz, was a prominent Jewish socialist leader in London and the United States in the late 19th ...

and his friend, writer Eliyahu Wolf Rabinowitz. It featured poetry (mostly Winchevsky's), transatlantic Jewish news and critiques of the local Yiddish theatre (including Sarah and

Jacob Adler Jacob Pavlovich Adler (Yiddish: יעקבֿ פּאַװלאָװיטש אַדלער; born Yankev P. Adler; February 12, 1855 – April 1, 1926)IMDB biography was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and ...

's troupe). Its writing style was inspired by

Aaron Liebermann Aaron Samuel Liebermann (, ''Aharon Shmu'el Liberman''; 20 May 1845 – 18 November 1880), also known by his pen names Bar Drora and Daniel Ish Ḥamudot and later as Arthur Freeman, was a Socialism, socialist author, Hebrew language, Hebrew t ...

(who established London's Hebrew Socialist Union), combining international commentary with local community organising. It sold for 1

penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

per issue. In 1892, it was renamed to ''Di Tsukunft'' (Yiddish: די צוקונפֿט, ''The Future''). The newspaper ceased publication after less than a year, due to ideological differences. Winchevsky, who was staunchly anti-religious, left because Rabbinowitch accepted an advertisement from Samual Montagu, who was a pillar of the religious community. Winchevsky went on to co-found the ''

Arbeter Fraynd The Worker's Friend Group was a Jewish anarchist group active in London's East End in the early 1900s. Associated with the Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper ''Arbeter Fraint'' ("Worker's Friend") and centered around the German emigre anarch ...

'', which regularly criticised Montague and Britain's

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Herman Adler. The newspaper struggled to gain traction and published a total of 16 issues. It was quickly overtaken by the ''Arbeter Fraynd''. The Jewish scene in London in general suffered from factionalism. The prevalence of anarchists meant Russia was not interested in supporting them. Most radical Jews ended up in New York City, including the paper's founder Morris Winchevsky. The paper claimed to "treat the Jew... as a man... as a Jew... as a worker" and listed four kinds of Jews: "The 'indifferent' care only about themselves; 'assimilationists' consider Jewish separateness to be the root of Jewish troubles; 'nationalists' blame the Jews' homelessness for their sufferings; 'socialists' consider the Jewish problem to be part of the general social problem, not one apart".

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Poylisher Yidl, Der Anarchism in England Anarchist periodicals published in the United Kingdom Ashkenazi Jewish culture in London Jewish anarchism Jewish socialism Publications established in 1884 Socialist newspapers Yiddish socialist periodicals Jewish English history Yiddish culture in England Polish-Jewish culture in the United Kingdom Secular Jewish culture in England

See also

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