Joseph Kruk (; December 5, 1885, in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

– July 6, 1972, in

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 ...

) was a socialist and Jewish-nationalist activist from his youth in Russia and Poland, where he played a political role between-the-wars. In 1940 he saved his life moving from Poland to Eretz Israel. Utill his death he was known in Israel as a journalist. Kruk took part in founding the first

labour Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the left-wing, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist faction of the historic Jewish ...

grouping in his hometown

prior to the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. When the revolution broke out, he was a major leader of the territorialist

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 ...

in the city.
Czestochowa Poland
' In 1906 he went into exile, and traveled over Europe. He studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

, obtaining a doctoral degree. 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 ...

he and his wife, Roza Kruk, lived in

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 ...

.Kadish, Sharman.
Bolsheviks and British Jews: The Anglo-Jewish Community, Britain, and the Russian Revolution
'. London, England: F. Cass, 1992. p. 187 Kruk, after a short episode in post revolution Russia, returned to Poland in 1918 and settled down in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He became a leader of the ''

Fareynikte 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 ...

'' party (into which the Zionist-Socialists had merged). In 1922 Kruk and the ''Fareynikte'' merged into the Independent Socialist Labour Party.
UNITED JEWISH SOCIALIST WORKERS' PARTY
' By 1927 the Independent Socialist Labour Party was in crisis. The question on cooperation with the

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

divided the party. The party was split in two, one group led by

Bolesław Drobner Bolesław Drobner (28 June 1883 – 31 March 1968) was a Polish politician. A member of the Polish Socialist Party, he supported cooperation with the communists. Arrested by the NKVD after the Soviet invasion of Poland, in 1943 he was released. D ...

and another led by Kruk. Drobner's group merged into the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

in 1928, whilst Kruk's group continued operate as the Independent Socialist Labour Party.Kowalski, Werner.
Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19
'. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. pp. 317-318 After the split, Kruk took over Drobner's seat as one of the Polish representatives in the executive of the

Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...

. Kruk was a member of the executive between June 1928 and October 1930, sharing the seat with the Yugoslav socialist leader

Živko Topalović Živko Topalović (21 March 1886 – 11 February 1972) was a Serbian and Yugoslav socialist politician. Topalović became a leading figure in the Socialist Party of Yugoslavia, founded in 1921.Banac, Ivo. The National Question in Yugoslavia: O ...

(like Drobner had done as well). In 1937 Kruk and his

-based group merged into the Poalei Zion Right. However, even after having joined the Zionist mainstream Kruk retained links with the territorialist Freyland League. He wrote for the Yiddish newspaper

Haynt ''Haynt'' ( - "Today"; Yidishes tageblat 1906-08) was a Yiddish daily newspaper, published in Warsaw from 1906 until 1939. Newspaper ''Yidishes tageblat'' (יידישעס טאגעבלאט) was founded in 1906 by Zionist Samuel Jackan, a former ...

. In 1940 Kruk migrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. In Israel he wrote for the newspapers

Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...

and Letse Nayes ("Last News"). He died in 1972 and is buried at Har HaMenuchot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruk, Joseph 1885 births 1972 deaths Jewish Polish politicians Jewish socialists People from Częstochowa Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International Independent Socialist Labour Party politicians Polish Socialist Party politicians United Jewish Socialist Workers Party politicians Zionist Socialist Workers Party politicians University of Bern alumni Jewish journalists Israeli journalists Territorialism Polish Zionists Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Burials at Har HaMenuchot 20th-century Polish journalists