YOYSEF ROZEN

YOYSEF ROZEN (February 13, 1894-April 30, 1954)

            He was born in Jedwabne, Poland.  He studied in religious elementary schools, later in Magnus Krinski’s commercial school in Warsaw.  He studied law at Warsaw University.  He lived for a short time in Lodz, Poltava, and Kovno, and he was one of the leaders of the left Labor Zionists in Poland—and from 1932 in Israel.  He wrote articles about ideology and practice of the left Labor Zionists in the party publications: Arbayter tsaytung (Workers’ newspaper) in Kovno (1920, also its editor), Arbeter-tsaytung (Labor newspaper), Di fraye yugnt (Free youth) in Warsaw (using the pen names of Yoysef, Doron, and Davidovitsh, among others), and Fraye yugent (Free youth) in Warsaw (1921, also editor).  He wrote a series of militant party pamphlets, especially against the Bund and the Yevsektsye (Jewish section [in the USSR]): Krimer teritoryalizm un proletarisher palestinizm (Crimean territorialism and proletarian Palestinism) (Warsaw, 1926), 64 pp. (twentieth printing); Mitn koyekh fun sheker un shvindl (With the power of lies and swindling) (Warsaw, 1927); Di blutike gesheenishn in erets-yisroel (The bloody events in the land of Israel) (Warsaw, 1929); Di blutike lere fun di palestine gesheenishn (The bloody lesson of the events in Palestine) (Warsaw, 1929); “Bund,” “royte” un di palestiner gesheenishn (The Bund, reds, and the events in Palestine) (Warsaw, 1929), 64 pp.; Aroys fun “bund” (Out of the Bund) (Warsaw, 1930), 65 pp.; Di “yidishe arbet” fun der kompartey in poyln (The “Jewish work” of the Communist Party in Poland) (Warsaw, 1932), 32 pp.; M’antloyft fun erets-yisroel, men “loyft” keyn biro-bidzhan (They’re escaping from the land of Israel, they’re “running” to Birobidzhan) (Tel Aviv, 1932), 32 pp.; Di blutike gesheenishn in palestine (The bloody events in Palestine) (Warsaw: Arbeter-tsaytung, 1933); Di gesheenishn fun oktober (The events of October) (Tel Aviv, 1933); Poyle-tsien un der tsienistisher kongres (Labor Zionism and the Zionist congress) (Tel Aviv: Derekh hapoel, 1938), 50 pp.  With Z. Abramovitsh and Zerubavl, he edited Fun britishn mandat biz der yidisher medine (From the British mandate to the Jewish state) (Buenos Aires, 1954).  He placed longer articles in: Dos arbeter-palestina (The workers’ Palestine) (Warsaw, 1925), mostly using the pen name Yoysef.  In 1957 there appeared in print his Ketuvin nevaḥim (Selected works) (Tel Aviv), 383 pp.  Under the name Y. Rozen, there is a translation of the Passover Haggadah, with the prayers and customs of Passover, Hebrew and Yiddish on opposing pages (Buenos Aires: A. Sigal, 1950), 34 pp. It is clear that this is the work of someone else.  He died in Tel Aviv.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Yisroel Stolarski, in Idisher kemfer (New York) (July 2, 1954); Pinkhes-Leyzer Goldman, In gang mit der tsayt (With the passage of time) (Tel Aviv: Peretz Publ., 1973); Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York); Elkana Margalit, Anatomiya shel smol, poale-tsiyon beerets yisroel, 1919-1946 (Anatomy of the left, Labor Zionism in the land of Israel, 1919-1946) (Tel Aviv, 1976), see index.

Ruvn Goldberg