MORTKHE STOLYAR

MORTKHE STOLYAR (1885-July 24, 1951)

            He was born in Kishinev, Bessarabia.  He studied in religious elementary school, later becoming an apprentice to a carpenter.  He was subsequently drawn into the Zionist Socialist party, began reading secular works, and on his own studied general subject matter.  In 1906 after the failure of the first Russian Revolution, he moved to Argentina.  For a time he worked in carpentry.  Later, together with his father, he opened the first Yiddish bookshop in Buenos Aires.  He had in his shop the best works then available in Yiddish, and his home became a meeting place for intellectuals.  Several months after the outbreak of WWI (November 15, 1915), there was founded in Buenos Aires the daily newspaper Di idishe tsaytung (The Jewish newspaper).  Initially a cooperative undertaking, the managers of the newspaper later hired Y. Sh. Lyakhovitski as editor, Louis Mas as assistant editor, and M. Stolyar as administrator.  In 1930 he became editor of the newspaper and remained in this position until his death.  Under his leadership the newspaper became an institution in the life of the Jewish community of Argentina.  He wrote essays and articles on cultural historical and community themes for it.  The newspaper offered a Jewish and socialist predilection.  With his indefatigable work, Stolyar helped to mold through the newspaper the Argentinian Jewish community.  He attracted as contributors to the newspaper the finest literary capacities not only in Argentina but from other countries as well.  In 1955 an annual literary prize was established in his name.  It was awarded for the best book in Yiddish or in Hebrew.  He died in Buenos Aires.

Sources: Y. Botoshanski, in Argentine (Argentina), anthology (Buenos Aires, 1938), p. 72; Sh. Rozhanski, Dos yidishe gedrukte vort in argentina (The published Yiddish word in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1941), pp. 80, 95, 96, 98; N. Khanin, A rayze iber tsentral- un dorem-amerike (A voyage through Central and South America) (New York, 1942), pp. 249-51; Volf Bresler, Antologye fun der yidisher literatur in argentine (Anthology of Jewish literature in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1944), p. 933; Di idishe tsaytung (Buenos Aires) (July 25, 1951); obituary in Davke (Buenos Aires) 8 (1951); B. Stolyar, in Forverts (New York) (July 30, 1951; B. Stolyar, in Hadoar (New York) (August 24, 1951); Sh. Ernst, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (July 17, 1952); M. Ginzburg, Sh. Y. Dorfzon, Sh. Y. Hurvits, Ben-Tsien Kats, A. Sh. Suris, B. Stolyar, Y. Pat, and Kh. Shoshkes, in Di idishe tsaytung (July 22, 1954; November 15, 1954); M. Regalski, in Yorbukh tsht”v fun der yidisher kehile in buenos ayres (1954/1955 annual of the Jewish community of Buenos Aires) (Buenos Aires); M. Turlov and M. Shenderay, in Di idishe tsaytung (July 4, 1961); Motye Stolyar (may he rest in peace), in Di idishe tsaytung (July 1, 1964); Di idishe tsaytung (November 15, 1964).

Yankev Birnboym