SHOLEM FRAYND

SHOLEM FRAYND (b. October 5, 1881)

            He was born in Przekopana, near Przemyśl, eastern Galicia.  He was active in socialist and enlightenment circles of “Briderlekhkeyt” (Brotherhood [association of Jewish workers]) and “Yeshurun” (Israel).  In 1902 he settled in Cracow.  In 1905 he published a weekly newspaper Frayhayt (Freedom) and campaigned for socialist territorialism.  After WWI he was a member of the Jewish national council in Cracow.  He wrote about Jewish cooperatives for the Arbayter tsaytung (Workers’ newspaper) in Warsaw.  Over the years 1920-1924, he chaired the central committee of the right Labor Zionists and edited Dos arbeter vort (The worker’s word).  From 1924 he served as chairman of the “Association of Lovers of Jewish Art,” which in 1926 established a society to found a Yiddish theater in Cracow.  He also contributed to Togblat (Daily newspaper) in Lemberg (1902-1903) and Premishler vokhnblat (Przemyśl weekly newspaper), among others.  He mainly wrote scholarly articles on Jewish economics, cooperatives, and Jewish community matters, as well as feature pieces and memoirs of theater and literature.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; M. Ayzland, in Hapoal hatsayir (Israel) (July 24, 1965).

Yankev Kahan