BENYOMEN LEVIN

BENYOMEN LEVIN (August 17, 1899-February 18, 1955)

            The brother of Leyzer Levin, he was born in Warsaw, Poland.  He attended religious elementary school and yeshiva, and he studied with private tutors.  In his youth he became a business employee and was active in the Bund.  In 1929 he moved to Canada and until 1935 lived in Montreal where he engaged in various trades, while at the same time remaining active in the Jewish labor movement, mainly in school curriculum for the Workmen’s Circle.  For a time he administered the Workmen’s Circle summer camp near Toronto, and he later lived in New York and Los Angeles, where he helped handle monetary activities for the Bund and Tsisho (Central Jewish School Organization) in Poland.  From 1939 until his death, he was connected to the Jewish Labor Committee.  He published a series of articles on “Antisemitizm in poylishn gerikht-vezn af di kresn” (Anti-Semitism in the Polish court system in the borderlands) in Vilner tog (Vilna day) in 1924.  In Canada and the United States, he published articles and feature pieces in: Der idisher zhurnal (The Jewish journal), Toronto (Toronto) (a weekly survey of labor and cultural issues), Der veker (The alarm), Forverts (Forward) (among other things, letters from the army), and Unzer tsayt (Our time)—in New York; among other serials.  He also contributed to: Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor) in New York; Di shtime (The voice) in Mexico City; and elsewhere.  Over the years 1935-1939, he served as the American correspondent for Naye folks-tsaytung (new people’s newspaper) in Warsaw.  He was editor of: the monthly Lebns-fragn (Life issues) in Toronto (1933)—several issues appeared; and from 1945 he also wrote for the annual souvenir issues of the Jewish Labor Committee in Los Angeles.  He also wrote under the pen names: B. L., B. L-n, Ben Menakhem, Biunel, and B. Libes.  He died in Los Angeles.

Sources: Y. Levin-Shatskes, in Der veker (New York) (March 1, 1955); B. Tabatshinski, in Unzer tsayt (New York) (March-April 1955).

Khayim Leyb Fuks