Shmaryahu Levin (russian: Шмарьяху Левин; born 1867 in

Svislach Svislach or Śvislač ( be, Свiслач, ; russian: Сви́слочь, Svisloch; pl, Świsłocz; yi, סיסלעוויטש or ''Sislevitch''; lt, Svisločius) is a town in the South-West of Grodno Region, Belarus, an administrative center ...

Minsk Governorate The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partition ...

; died 9 June 1935,

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

), was a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in J ...

activist. He was a member of the first elected Russian Parliament for the

Constitutional Democratic Party ) , newspaper = '' Rech'' , ideology = Constitutionalism Constitutional monarchismLiberal democracy Parliamentarism Political pluralismSocial liberalism , position = Centre to centre-left , international = , colo ...

in 1906.

Biography

Shmaryahu Levin served as a crown rabbi in the towns of

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish ...

(189697) and

Ekaterinoslav Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

(Dnipropetrovsk) from 1898 to 1904. He was elected to the 1906 First Duma. Levin left

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

immediately after the dispersal of the First Duma, then emigrated to America. From 1908 he began advocating for the creation of the

Haifa Technion Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

. He was known as an outstanding Yiddish orator.

Zionist activism

Levin was a representative of the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

and director of the Information Department of

Keren Hayesod Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal ( he, קרן היסוד, literally "The Foundation Fund") is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren haYesod Law-5 ...

.Zionism and Free Enterprise: The Story of Private Entrepreneurs in Citrus Plantations in Palestine, Irit Amit-Cohen
/ref>

Awards and recognition

Shmaryahu Levin grave in Trumpeldor cemetery

Kfar Shmaryahu Kfar Shmaryahu ( he, כְּפַר שְׁמַרְיָהוּ, ar, كفار شمرياهو) is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. History Kfar Shmaryahu was founded in May 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah. The founding membe ...

, an affluent Tel Aviv suburb, is named for him.

References

External links

Central Zionist Archives Personal papers of Shmaryahu Levin
The notation of the record group is A20. {{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Shmaryahu 1867 births 1935 deaths People from Puchavičy District People from Bobruysky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Russian Constitutional Democratic Party members Members of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire Jewish activists Jewish philanthropists Belarusian Zionists Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums alumni