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Nachman Syrkin (also spelled ''Nahman Syrkin'' or ''Nahum Syrkin''; ; 11 February 1868 – 6 September 1924) was a political theorist, founder of
Labor Zionism 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 ...
and a prolific writer in the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
,
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 ...
,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
s.


Biography

Nachum Syrkin was born to a
Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...
family in
Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(now
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
). He was influenced by
Hovevei Zion The Lovers of Zion, also ''Hovevei Zion'' () or ''Hibbat Zion'' (, ), were a variety of proto-Zionist organizations founded in 1881 in response to the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire and were officially constituted as a group at a conf ...
and
socialism 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 ...
in his youth and dedicated himself to synthesizing the two concepts. In this task he was joined by
Ber Borochov Dov Ber Borochov (;  – 17 December 1917) was a Marxist Zionist and one of the founders of the Labor Zionist movement. He was also a pioneer in the study of the Yiddish language. Biography Dov Ber Borochov was born in the town of Z ...
. Syrkin's daughter
Marie Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compo ...
was a noted writer, educator and American Zionist activist.


Zionist career

Syrkin was one of the leaders of the
Labor Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the Left-wing politics, left-wing, socialism, 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 at the
First Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress () was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization (ZO) held in the Stadtcasino Basel in the city of Basel on August 29–31, 1897. Two hundred and eight delegates from 17 countries and 2 ...
in 1897 and was an early proponent of the
Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...
. He was also the first person to propose that Jewish immigrants 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 ...
form collective settlements. Unlike other socialist thinkers of the time, Syrkin was comfortable with his Jewish heritage and, although he does not spell it out explicitly in his essay "The Jewish Question and the Jewish Socialist State" (1898), it is clear that he had in mind the
biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
emphasis on strict
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
, irrespective of wealth, power or privilege. However, he saw Zionism as a replacement for traditional Judaism:
The new, Zionist Judaism stands in complete contrast to the Judaism of exile … Zionism uproots religious Judaism in a stronger way than Reform or assimilation, by creating new standards of 'Judaism' which will constitute a new ideology that can be elevated to the status of a religion.
In "The Jewish Question and the Socialist Jewish State," Syrkin sought to reconcile his conception of socialism and his strong devotion to Zionism, arguing against what he considered bourgeois Zionists, such as
Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
, that only the Jewish working class could realize Zionism. He also argued against
anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
Jewish socialists that there could be no solution to the
Jewish question The Jewish question was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century Europe that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national questions", dealt with the civil, legal, national, ...
and
European antisemitism Antisemitism, the prejudice or discrimination against Jews, has had a long history since the Classical antiquity, ancient times. While antisemitism had already been prevalent in ancient Greece and Roman Empire, its institutionalization in Europ ...
without the creation of a
Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland for the Jewish people. Overview Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewi ...
. Syrkin worked to establish Labor Zionist groups throughout
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
. After studying and working in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and after being banned from Germany in 1904, Syrkin returned to
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 ...
after 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 ...
. He took part at the 1905 Basle Seventh Zionist Congress as a delegate of the new
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 ...
.Comrades and Enemies - Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906–1948
by Zachary Lockman
In 1919, Syrkin was a member of the American Jewish delegation to the
Versailles Peace Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of F ...
. He was also a leading figure in the World Poale Zion conference that year and was given the task of visiting Palestine to develop a plan for
kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
settlement. He intended to relocate to Palestine, but died of a heart attack in 1924 in
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 ...
.


Legacy

In 1951, his remains were buried in the Kibbutz Kinneret beside the other founders of Labor Zionism. Kfar Sirkin, founded in 1933 close to
Petach Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent settlement i ...
, is named for him.


Published works (English)

*''Essays on socialist Zionism'' (New York, Young Poale Zion Alliance of America, 1935, 64p). Includes: **''The Jewish Question and the Jewish Socialist State'' (1898) **''National independence and international unity'' (1917)


References


External links


The Jewish Problem and the Socialist Jewish State, Nachman Syrkin 1898
(excerpts)

a
MidEastWeb for Coexistence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syrkin, Nahum 1868 births 1924 deaths People from Mogilev People from Mogilyovsky Uyezd (Mogilev Governorate) Hovevei Zion Jews from the Russian Empire Belarusian Jews Belarusian Zionists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Zionist Socialist Workers Party politicians Poale Zion politicians Russian political philosophers Delegates to the First World Zionist Congress Burials at Kinneret Cemetery