YITSKHOK KORN (YITSHAK COREN)

YITSKHOK KORN (YITSHAK COREN) (March 11, 1911-June 22, 1994)

            He was born in Kishinev.  He graduated from a Hebrew high school in Kishinev and from the law faculty of Jassy (Iași) University.  He was active in Tseire-Tsiyon (Zionist youth).  From 1940 he was living in the land of Israel.  He assumed important positions in Mapai (Workers’ Party in the Land of Israel) and in the world Zionist-socialist movement.  He worked on behalf of Yiddish in Israel and the diaspora and was the principal initiator of the World Conference for Jewish Culture (August 1976).  Over the years 1959-1965, he was a deputy in the Knesset.  He contributed to the daily newspaper Unzer tsayt (Our times) in Kishinev, edited the student publication Unzer veg (Our way), and with M. Kotik edited the weekly Tseire-Tsiyon newspaper Erd un arbet (Land and work).  In Israel he was a regular contributor to Folksblat (People’s newspaper) and Bay zikh (On one’s own).  From time to time, he published articles on Yiddish and Zionist issues in various publications outside Israel.  He authored Hebrew-language books, two of which were translated into Yiddish: Keshenev (Kishinev) (Buenos Aires, 1950), 416 pp.; and Di geshikhte fun moyshve-oylim in yisroel (The history of immigrant residences in Israel) (Buenos Aires: Kiem, 1968), 500 pp.  He also published a collection of articles and essays entitled Yidn afn sheydveg (Jews at the crossroad) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1978), 427 pp. and Der gerangl far yidish, eseyen (The struggle for Yiddish, essays) (Tel Aviv, World Council for Yiddish, 1982), 243 pp.  Also, the following pamphlets: Maysim un farmestn (Actions and contests) (Tel Aviv-New York, 1966), 24 pp.; Oyfgabn un problemen, tsu der velt konferents fun “iḥud olami” (Tasks and problems, on the world conference of “World Union”) (Tel Aviv-New York, 1966), 64 pp.; Dos geshtalt fun besarabishn yidntum (The image of Bessarabian Jewry) (New York, 1978), 24 pp.; Velt konferents in yerusholaim far der yidisher kultur (World conference in Jerusalem for Jewish culture) (Tel Aviv, 1976), 14 pp.; Tsi endikn zikh di hashpoe fun mizrekh-eyropeishn yidntum (Has the influence of East European Jewry come to an end?) (Tel Aviv, 1976), 14 pp.; Yidn on yidishkeyt, tsienistn on on tsienizm (Jewish with Jewishness, Zionists without Zionism) (Tel Aviv, 1977), 26 pp.; Nisht vern mid tsu kletern afn barg fun yidisher kultur (Do not grow weary of climbing the mountain of Yiddish culture) (Tel Aviv, 1979), 16 pp.  In 1984 he began publishing in Bay zikh (Tel Aviv) chapters of his book Yidish in rumenye, eseyen (Yiddish in Romania, essays) which was published in book form in 1989 in Tel Aviv (311 pp.)  He died in Israel.

Sources: Getzel Kressel, Leksikon hasifrut haivrit (Handbook of Hebrew literature), vol. 2 (Merḥavya, 1967); D. Tidhar, in Entsiklopedyah leḥalutse hayishuv uvonav (Encyclopedia of the pioneers and builders of the yishuv), vol. 4 (Tel Aviv, 1950); Shloyme Bikl, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (October 2, 1965); Sh. Shveytser, in Di goldene keyt (Tel Aviv) 98 (1979).

Ruvn Goldberg

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 479.]