YEKHIEL BEN TSIYON KATZ (JECHIEL BENCJON)

YEKHIEL BEN TSIYON KATZ (JECHIEL BENCJON) (July 7, 1905-June 15, 1961)

            He was born in Mlave (Mława), Poland.  He graduated from a teachers’ seminary and studied pedagogy at Warsaw University.  In 1922 he made aliya to Israel.  He cofounded “Socialist Youth” and “Working Youth.”  He worked on assignment from Haḥaluts (Pioneer) in Poland, 1926-1932; for example, over the years 1929-1935, he worked at the Helenowek Orphanage near Lodz.  He returned to Israel and worked in institutions for children at risk and orphans.  He published articles on education, child psychology, and literature in such journals as: Shul un lebn (School and life) in Warsaw (1926); and Dos vort (The word) in Warsaw (1933-1934).  In 1931 he published a Yiddish periodical in Mlave entitled Mlaver nayes (Mlave news) (November 1, 1931-July 21, 1933), thirty-eight issues in all.  In Dos kind (The child), he placed a series of articles which were later included in his book Dertsiung oder farbrekhn (Education or crime), with a foreword by Dr. M. Peker (Warsaw, 1933), 64 pp.  He also published: Yeladim azuvim (Underprivileged children) (Tel Aviv, 1939), second edition (1962), 131 pp.  He also wrote pieces for Hapoel hatsair (The young worker), Davar (Word), and other serials.  He was the author of Teufa lakol, madrikh bibliyografi liteufa basifrut haivrit (Aviation for all, bibliographic guide to aviation in Hebrew literature) (Tel Aviv, 1956), 30 pp.  He died in Tel Aviv.

Sources: Sh. Z. Vulf, in Dos kind (Warsaw) 2-3 (1933); Pinkes mlave (Records of Mlave) (New York, 1950), p. 113.

Khayim Leyb Fuks, Ruvn Goldberg

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 310.]