ESTER VILENSKA

ESTER VILENSKA (June 8, 1918-November 8, 1975)

            This was the adopted surname for Novak, born in Vilna.  She graduated from a Tarbut high school in Vilna.  She moved to Israel in 1938.  She received her B. A. in philosophy and sociology in 1970 and her M. A. in history in 1975 from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  From 1940 she was active and in an administrative capacity in the Communist Party in Israel and editor of its organ, Kol haam (Voice of the people), in Tel Aviv.  She wrote theoretical, political, and socio-economic articles in Hebrew-language books and pamphlets.  She published as well in: Morgn-frayhayt (Morning freedom) in New York; Vokhnblat (Weekly newspaper) in Toronto, and Naye prese (New press) in Paris.  Her books in Yiddish: Der groyser poyerim-oyfshtand in daytshland, forgeyer fun sotsyale revolutsyes (The great peasant uprisings in Germany, forerunner of social revolutions) (Tel Aviv, 1972), 158 pp.; Vos iz forgekumen in mk״i? (What happened to the Israeli Communist Party?) (Tel Aviv, 1973), 30 pp.; Sotsyalistisher internatsyonal un komintern, 1889-1923 (The Socialist International and the Comintern, 1889-1923) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1975), 152 pp.  She died in Tel Aviv.

Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 246.