WILLIAM TSUKERMAN

WILLIAM TSUKERMAN (July 15, 1885-October 4, 1961

            He was born in Brisk (Brest), Russian empire, to a father who was a teacher of Russian.  He studied in the Brest Russian-Jewish public school.  In 1910 he moved with his parents to the United States.  He worked for years in factories and over the same period of time attended high school, studied at the University of Chicago, and specialized in philosophy.  His work appeared in the Chicago edition of Forverts (Forward).  His journalistic activities began with correspondence pieces in Forverts.  He published articles in: Arbeter velt (Workers’ world) and other serials in Chicago; and Yidishe arbayter velt (Jewish workers’ world), Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor), Forverts, and Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal) in New York.  After WWI he settled in Europe and for years directed a news agency for Morgn-zhurnal in London.  From around 1940 he returned to live in New York.  From 1948 he published and edited a biweekly newspaper in English, Jewish Newsletter.  He also contributed work to various English-language journals, in which he published sharp anti-Zionist articles against the state of Israel and the government of Israel.  He was also for many years active in Workmen’s Circle and in the Jewish Labor Committee.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; M. Epshteyn, in Morgn-frayhayt (New York) (January 24, 1931); L. Talmi, in Morgn-frayhayt (August 31, 1932); Chaim Zhitlovsky, in Tog (New York) (May 12, 1934); A. Ginzburg, in Forverts (New York) (December 29, 1934); H. Rogof, in Forverts (December 1, 1955); Meylekh Ravitsh, in Fraye arbeter shtime (New York) (June 1, 1958); B. Ts. Goldberg, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (October 11, 1961); Arbeter-ring boyer un tuer (Builders and leaders of the Workmen’s Circle), ed. Y. Yeshurin and Y. Sh. Herts (New York, 1962).

Benyomen Elis