DOVID SHTOKFISH

DOVID SHTOKFISH (November 2, 1912-2008)

            He was a journalist, born in Lublin.  He attended religious elementary school and graduated from a Polish public school.  He worked for a publishing house in Lublin, Kiev, and Kremenchuk.  Over the years 1939-1945, he was refugee in the Soviet Union; he then spent two years in Warsaw, and from 1948 he was living in Tel Aviv.  From his youth he was active with the left Labor Zionists, was a Communist for certain time, and in Israel he served on the central committee of Mapam (United Workers’ Party).  In 1934 he published, with Moyshe Grinberg, an explanatory pamphlet entitled Der veg far der idisher arbeter-yugnt (The way for Jewish laboring youth) (Warsaw, 1934), 32 pp.  In 1945 he became editor of the revived Arbeter-tsaytung (Workers’ newspaper) in Warsaw; he was secretary to the editorial board, 1949-1953, of Nayvelt (new world) in Tel Aviv, and later in Israel of Af der vakh (On guard), Yisroel-shtime (Voice of Israel), and Folk un tsien (People and Zion).  In addition, he contributed to Letste nayes (latest news) in Tel Aviv, among other serials.  He edited numerous remembrance volumes, such as those for: Vishkof (Wyszków), Drahitshin (Drahičyn), Demblin-Modzhits (Dęblin-Modrzyc), Divenishok (Dieveniškės), Mlave (Mława), Pshitik (Przytyk), Kuzmir (Kazimierz), Kelts (Kielce), and elsewhere.  He published articles, feature pieces, reviews, and translations from Polish literature and journalism.  From Hebrew he translated: Mordechai Oren, Der prager arestant dertseylt (The prague prisoner recounts [original: Reshimot asir prag]) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1959), 2 vols.; Margaret Larkin, Di zeks teg fun yad mortkhe (The Six Days of Yad Mordechai) (Tel Aviv: Yisroel-bukh, 1967), 291 pp.; and a portion of Siaḥ loḥamim (The fighters recount) (Tel Aviv, 1969).  In book form: In gang fun gesheenishn, zamlung fun 260 artiklen, reportazhn, ophandlungen, retsenzyes, dershinen in di yorn 1945-1980 in der yisroeldiker un oyslendisher prese (In the course of events, a collection of 260 articles, reportage pieces, essays, [and] reviews, published over the years 1945-1980 in the Israeli and foreign press) (Tel Aviv: Yisroel-bukh, 1982), 783 pp.

Ruvn Goldberg

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 522.]