YEHOSHUA MESHULAḤ

YEHOSHUA MESHULAḤ (March 28, 1907-July 7, 1980)

            He was born in Dubne (Dubno), Volhynia district, Ukraine.  In his youth, he moved with his parents to Kliban, where he attended religious elementary school with his grandfather (the local rabbi) and a Russian middle school.  From his youth he was active in the pioneer movement.  In 1926 he moved to the land of Israel and worked for a time in a factory.  He began writing at age seventeen, publishing sketches, humorous pieces, and articles in Voliner lebn (Volhynian life) in Rovne (Rovno), and later in Voliner tsaytung (Volhynian newspaper) and elsewhere.  He switched to Hebrew in 1929, contributing to: Davar (Word); Davar leyeladim (Word for children), for which he edited the radio division; Haarets (The land); Haolam (The world); Hador (The generation); and the humorous publication Sikot (Pins); among others.  He was a regular contributor to Di yidishe tsaytung (The Jewish newspaper).  He also published under such pen names as: Reb Yehoshua and Ben-Yosef.  He died in Tel Aviv.

Sources: D. Tidhar, in Entsiklopedyah leḥalutse hayishuv uvonav (Encyclopedia of the pioneers and builders of the yishuv), vol. 7 (Tel Aviv, 1956), p. 2820; Sefer hashana shel haitonim (Newspaper yearbook) (Tel Aviv, 1955/1956), p. 246.

Khayim Leyb Fuks