SHIMEN FARBER

SHIMEN FARBER (August 4, 1884-February 20, 1960)

            He was born in Goniądz, near Bialystok, Poland.  He attended religious elementary school and yeshiva.  He became involved with the Socialist Revolutionary party.  He worked in a cigarette factory, in a book bindery, and later he departed for Skidl (Skidzieĺ), near Bialystok, where he worked in a tannery, and with his comrades called a general strike.  He smuggled illegal literature and was compelled to flee from Russia.  In 1902 he arrived in London and became involved in the anarchist movement.  In 1904 he came to the United States, where he worked in various trades in New York and other cities.  He then returned to New York and began to work as a writer.  He was an editorial board member for Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor) in New York, a regular contributor to Forverts (Forward) in New York, and from 1936 a member of the editorial board of Gerekhtikeyt (Justice), organ of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.  He wrote about union issues and was active in the cooperative movement; he also edited various other publications that the ILGWU brought out.  He died in Miami, Florida.

Sources: Yoysef Kahan, Di yidishe anarkhistishe bavegung in amerike (The Jewish anarchist movement in the United States) (Philadelphia, 1945), chapter 13; Sh. Linder, in Fraye arbeter-shtime (New York) (August 13, 1954); Y. Fogel, in Forverts (New York) (January 14, 1958); A. Thorn, in Forverts (February 19, 1960; February 15, 1965); H. Lang, in Fraye arbeter-shtime (March 1, 1962).

Yankev Kahan