SHMUEL LOKERMAN

SHMUEL LOKERMAN (1888-December 13, 1950)

            He was born in Kreve (Krevo), Vilna district.  At age eighteen he moved to Vilna where he was active for a time among the Zionist socialists.  In 1907 he linked up with YIKO (Jewish Cultural Organization) in St. Petersburg and with the territorialists in Kiev.  During WWI (1915), He was evacuated from Vilna to Minsk.  He was involved in relief work for Jews made homeless by the war.  With the outbreak of the Russian revolution in 1917, he founded in Minsk a division of the Jewish Folks-partey (People’s party), and with the election to the founding Russian assembly, he was its investigator for Minsk and Homel districts.  In 1919 he returned to Vilna, became secretary of TOZ (Towarzystwo Ochrony Zdrowia [Society for the protection of health]), was a member of the committee of Yekopo (Yevreyskiy komitet pomoshchi zhertvam voyny—“Jewish Relief Committee for War Victims”), and contributed to the construction of destroyed Jewish towns.  He was a member of the Vilna Jewish community council and the city council, an active leader in school matters, and a member of the central education committee and secretary for relief of the Jewish Folks-partey in Poland.  He made aliya to Israel in 1935, and there he organized infirmaries and led an energetic campaign on behalf of the health of the people.  In 1904 he began corresponding for Tog (Day) in St. Petersburg, and later for Der veg (The way) in Warsaw; later still he was a contributor to Folks-blat (People’s newspaper), organ of the Jewish Folks-partey, was a contributor to the organ of TOZ, Folks-gezunt (People’s health), and compiled a weekly calendar entitled “Higyene” (Hygiene) for the latter.  Over the years 1926-1927, he also wrote for Vilner tog (Vilna day) and for the journal Frayer gedank (Free thought); in 1928 he edited Vilner vegn (Vilna paths).  He corresponded from Israel for Vilner tog and for Afn shvel (At the threshold) in New York.  He also wrote under the pen names: Bosman and Ben-Moyshe.  He died in Haifa.

Sources: Pinkes fun yekopo (Records of Yekopo [Yevreyskiy komitet pomoshchi zhertvam voyny—“Jewish Relief Committee for War Victims”]) (Vilna, 1930), see index; obituary notice in Afn shvel (New York) (January-February 1951); H. Abramovitsh, in Afn shvel (March-April 1951).

Yankev Kohen

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