David Lvovich (1882-1950),[1] known by the pseudonym Davidovich, was a Russian-Jewish politician. Lvovich was one of the main leaders of the Zionist Socialist Workers Party (SS).
He was born in southern Russia.[2] Lvovich's involvement in radical politics began in 1903, as after a visit to Minsk where he acquinted the Poalei Zion movement.[2] He visited Palestine in 1905, and following this visit he embraced territorialism.[2] He became a member of the SS Odessa Party Committee and led the SS Self-Defense Unit during the October 1905 pogrom.[2]
In 1907 Lvovich represented SS at the congress of the Second International in Stuttgart.[2] In 1908 he and other SS leaders settled in Vienna, where they formed a commune of sorts (nick-named 'the hunger commune' due to their limited resources).[3]
Lvovich stayed in the United States during the First World War, but returned to Russia to contest the 1917 Russian Constituent Assembly election.[4] Lvovich, now a leader of the United Jewish Socialist Workers Party (Fareynikte), was elected as a deputy from the Kherson constituency as a candidate on the Socialist-Revolutionary list.[5]
Moving away from partisan politics, Lvovich opted for concentrating his energies to build the ORT movement in Russia.[2] In 1919 he left Russia and together with Leon Bramson he sought to build the ORT movement internationally.[2] Lvovich moved to Berlin in 1921.[1] In 1921 he co-founded the World ORT.[2] In 1932 he moved to Paris where he stayed until 1939, after which he emigrated to the United States.[1] In 1937 he became the Vice Chairman of World ORT, in 1946 becoming its co-president.[2]
In the aftermath of the Second World War, Lvovich organized occupational training activities in displaced persons' camps.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Geoffrey Wigoder (1970). The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. W. H. Allen. p. 1249. ISBN 9780491003643.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Fred Skolnik; Michael Berenbaum (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Macmillan Reference USA. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-02-865941-1.
- ^ Tamar Lewinsky; Sandrine Mayoraz (14 October 2013). East European Jews in Switzerland. De Gruyter. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-11-030071-0.
- ^ Leon Shapiro (April 1980). The history of ORT: a Jewish movement for social change. Schocken Books. p. 87. ISBN 9780805237399.
- ^ Union of Russian Jews (1969). Russian Jewry, 1917-1967. T. Yoseloff. p. 42. ISBN 9780498069567.