FROYM (EPHRAIM) ISH-KISHOR

FROYM (EPHRAIM) ISH-KISHOR (July 20, 1863-September 23, 1945)

     Adopted name of Froym Shpindelman, born in Ponimun (Panemunis), at the border between Poland and Lithuania.  He was a Hebrew teacher for Chibbat Tsiyon (Love of Zion) in London, England.  In 1887 he served on the editorial board of the London Jewish newspaper, Hamitspeh (The watch tower); in 1891 he was the editor of Di yudishe natsyonal tsaytung (The Jewish national newspaper) in which he published under the name Avrom.  He was a close collaborate of Dr. Herzl who noted in his diary: “The poor Russian Jewish teacher whose Zhargon speech [i.e., Yiddish] in the West End moved me greatly and inspired all listeners.”  He was a delegate to the first Zionist Congress.  He later came to the United States where he devoted himself to Zionist work and was one of the founders of the Judea Insurance Company.  In his last years, he made aliya and died in Jerusalem.

Sources: D. Tidhar, Entsiklopedyah leḥalutse hayishuv uvonav (Encyclopedia of the founders and builders of Israel) (Tel Aviv, 1947-1971), vol. 3; Luakh zikaron, sefer haitonim (Calendar of memory, volume on newspapers) (Tel Aviv, 1946); A. R., in Shikago (August 1933).