AYZIK HEMLIN

AYZIK HEMLIN (November 15, 1891-February 16, 1967)

            He was born in the town of Kamarin (Kamaryn), Rachitsa district, Byelorussia.  He studied in religious elementary school and in a yeshiva in Mozyr.  He later worked as a laborer in Ekaterinoslav.  In 1909 he departed for the United States.  He lived in Boston and was the leader of the Labor Zionists in New England.  In 1924 he was national secretary of the Histadrut campaign.  He was a member of the council of the Jewish Agency and of the central committee of the Labor Zionist Party.  He wrote articles for the daily newspaper Di tsayt (The times) in New York (1921), and later in the 1920s (with Y. Shnayder) he served as editor of Yunger idisher kemfer (Young Jewish fighter).  He published articles on Zionism, socialism, and “Working Israel” in the daily press and in Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter) in New York.  In 1956 he made aliya to the state of Israel where he directed a tourist center for Histadrut.  The new Histadrut center in Tel Aviv bears his name: “Bet Hemlin.”  He died in Tel Aviv.

Hemlin speaking

Sources: A fertl-yorhundert histadrut (A quarter century of the Histadrut), ed. L. Shpizman (New York, 1946), p. 263; Yidisher natsyonaler arbeter-farband, 1910-1946 (Jewish National Workers Alliance, 1910-1946) (New York, 1946); L. Shpizman et al., in Geshikhte fun der tsienistisher arbeter-bavegung in tsofn-amerike (History of the Zionist workers’ movement in North America), 2 vols. (New York, 1955), see index; A. S. Lirik, in Forverts (New York) (August 19, 1956); Keneder odler (Montreal) (February 21, 1957); A. Tanenboym, in Hapoel hatsair (October 8, 1957).