ALEKSANDR-ZISKIND
COHEN (b. August 15, 1866)
He was born in Mezritch (Międzyrzecz), Poland. His journalistic activities began with
correspondence pieces and feature essays in the Hebrew-language Hamagid (The preacher) and Hamelits (The advocate) and in the Russian
Jewish Khronika
voskhoda (Chronicle of the east). Over the years 1895-1905, he was secretary of
the society Aḥiasef in Warsaw and chronicler of
Yud (Jew) and Hador (The generation). From
1919 he worked as an internal contributor for Moment (Moment), in charge of notices from the foreign press. He also published popular scientific articles
in Ilustrirte vokh (Illustrated week)
in Warsaw. He published from his own
publishing house a pamphlet entitled Af
vos darf men lernen yidishe geshikhte? (Why should we study Jewish
history?) (using the pen name Ben Dovid).
He also brought a series of translated pamphlets, such as: Hertsls broyt on arbayt oder solon in lidyen
(Herzl’s “Bread without labor or Solon in Lydia” [original: Solin in Lydien]) (Warsaw, 1902), 22 pp.;
Pyotr Kropotkin, Ksovim fun a
revolutsyoner (Writings of a revolutionary [original: Memoirs of a Revolutionist]), two chapters from this immense work; An oyfruf tsu yungelayt (A call to
youth), on sexual life; Yezus khristus’s
lebn, yeshiye hanotsri, nokh
di beste yudishe un kristlikhe kvelen bearbayt (The
life of Jesus Christ, adapted from the best Jewish and Christian sources) (Warsaw:
1908), 46 pp. For the “Family Library”
of Haynt (Today), he prepared a series
of pamphlets, among them: Di geshikhte
fun aliles-dam (The history of the blood libel); Di shreklikhe momentn in der idisher geshikhte (Terrifying moments
in Jewish history); Di amerikaner
milarderen (The American millions); Di
koylen-gruben (The coal miners); Di
greste erfindugen (The greatest inventions); and Himel un erd (Heaven and earth).
Among his longer translations, the following were published: Sergey
Nechaev, Di untererdishe koykhes (The
underground strengths) (Warsaw, 1922), 111 pp.; Henry M. Stanley, Vi azoy ikh hob gefunen livingstonen
(How I found Livingstone) (Warsaw, 1922), 157 pp.; M. Bern, Der kamf mit der natur (The struggle
with nature) (Warsaw, 1922), 126 pp.; Louis de Rougement, Tsulib shvartse perl (Because of a black pearl) (Warsaw, 1922), 136
pp.; Wilhelm Bölsche, Mentsh un khaye
(Man and animal) (Warsaw, 1922), 159 pp.; Professor Israel Abraham, Yidn in mitlalter (Jews in the Middle Ages
[original: Jewish Life in the Middle Ages])
(Warsaw, 1923), 113 pp.; John Hagenbeck, Iber
der indisher velt, iberlebenishn
un vunderlikhe gesheenishn in indye, sumatra, yava un af di andaman-inzlen (Across the Indian world, experiences and wonderful
occurrences in India, Sumatra, Java, and the Andaman Islands [original: Kreuz und
quer durch die indische Welt (Right and left through the Indian world)] (Warsaw, 1925),
125 pp.; Professor Lasar-Kohn, Khemye in
teglekhe lebn (Chemistry in daily life), vol. 1 (Warsaw: Di velt, 1923),
132 pp.; Pierre Benoît, Atlantida (original:
L’Atlandide), a novel (Warsaw: Sh.
Yatshkovski, 1924), 250 pp.; D. Evald, Dos
lebn in vald (Life in the woods) (Warsaw, 1923), 152 pp.; Dr. Otto Hauser, Urmentsh un vilder, a paralel tsvishn der
farhistorisher tsayt un der itstiker (Primitive man and the savage, a
parallel between prehistorical times and the present [original: Urmensch und Wilder, eine Parallele aus
Urwelttagen und Gegenwart]) (1923); Perets Smolenskin, Der vos hot geblondzhet (He who got lost [original: Hatoe bedarkhe haḥayim (He who has lost his way in life)]) (Warsaw,
1920s), with B. Epelboym. Further
information remains unknown.
Sources:
Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 2; M. Mozes, in Fun noentn
over (New York) 2 (1956), p. 290.
Yankev Cohen
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