MEYER BRAUN (MAYER BROWN)

MEYER BRAUN (MAYER BROWN) (January 7, 1889-November 2, 1965)

He was born in Bialystok, and in 1902 he emigrated with his parents to the United States.  He graduated high school and studied at universities, before settling in New York in 1908.  He was active in the Poale-Tsiyon movement and the Jewish National Workers Alliance.  In 1909 he began writing articles on current events for Varheyt (Truth).  He also published in: Tsayt (Time), Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter), Tog (Day), Farband-shtime (Voice of the Alliance), and Gedank un lebn (Thought and life)—in New York, as well as in the regional press.  He wrote longer works in 30 yoriker yoyvl fun farband (Thirty-year jubilee [volume] of the Alliance) and Poale-tsiyen almanakh (Labor Zionist almanac) (1927-1928).  In 1918 he edited the organ of the Alliance, Yidishe arbeter-shtime (Voice of Jewish labor).  Over the years 1933-1941, he lived in Palestine.  He worked for Histadruth, organizing the insurance association, “Hasneh.”  He was secretary of the Poale-Tsiyon Party in New York and one of the founders of the Jewish National Workers Alliance.  Over the years 1910-1922, he was the Alliance’s secretary and from 1949 he was its chairman.  He was the author of Mit idishe oygn (With Jewish eyes) (New York: Farband, 1958), 320 pp.  Among his pen names: Ben-Arye, Grinman, Raim Nuark, An eygener.

Sources: Geshikhte fun der tsienistisher arbiter-bavegung in tsofn-amerike (History of the Zionist workers’ movement in North America), 2 vols. (New York, 1955).

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 115.]