LEYVI-KHAYIM
(CHAIM) GERSHATER (November 15, 1907-November 4, 1959)
He was born in Krakinove
(Krekenava), Lithuania, and in his childhood moved with his family to
Vilna. His father, R. Dovid Gershater
(from the Rokeaḥ [Rokeakh]
family), was among the most prominent rabbis in the city. His articles and “Letters to the editor” on a
variety of matters frequently appeared in the Vilna daily press and in the
Orthodox weekly newspaper Undzer vort
(Our word), and during WWII he was among the first rabbis publicly tortured and
murdered by the Nazis in the city. His
son received a religious Jewish education, studying in religious elementary
school and in the Ramaile Yeshiva. After
WWI he attended the pedagogical course of study run by Tarbut in Vilna and
graduated in 1923. He also actively
participated in the Zionist movement. He
chaired the youth organization “Haḥaver”
(The friend) and was a member of the district committee of Tarbut. In 1926 he emigrated to South Africa, where
he graduated with a “Bachelor of Arts” degree from a humanities faculty. He began his journalistic activities in the
1920s in Hebrew with articles in Hatsfira
(The siren) in Warsaw. Over the years
1927-1930, he was a regular contributor to the weekly newspaper Der afrikaner (The African) in
Johannesburg for which he wrote editorials, reports, and feature pieces as well
under such pen names as G. Levi Rokeakh.
In the 1930s he became the correspondent for Haarets (The land) (Tel Aviv) and for Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal) (New York). He visited Israel and published a book: 30 Days in Israel in English
(Johannesburg, 1950?). He was the
chairman of Ofir (Jewish literary and journalist association) until 1949 and a
lecturer at the “literary association” in Johannesburg. He also wrote under the pen names: Kh”G,
Khayim, and Mevaker. He died in
Johannesburg.
Sources:
Sh. Katsherginski, Khurbn vilne (The
Holocaust in Vilna) (New York, 1947), p. 217; Dr. Y. Shatski, in Yivo-bleter (New York) (1956), pp.
254-55.
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