הפריט שבחרת:

רוצה לעזור לנו לשפר את התוכן? אפשר לשלוח הצעות

Zionist leader

He was born in Hleszczewa (Tarnopol district) and studied law at the University of Lvov where in 1909 he founded the Jewish student’s center, the first of its kind in Europe. He subsequently practiced law in Lvov. From 1918 to 1939 he was vice-president of the Zionist Organization of Galicia. Sommerstein played a leading role in Polish Jewish communal life and was vice-president of the Jewish cooperative movement in the country. From 1922 to 1939 (with a break in 1927-29), he was a member of the Polish parliament (Sejm). After the outbreak of World War II, he fled to Russia and was imprisoned by the Soviet authorities until 1944. Following his release he was made a member of the first post-War Polish government and from 1944-46 served as chairman of the Central Jewish Committee of Poland. He helped to obtain the repatriation of 140,000 Jews from the USSR to Poland. Sommerstein was in the USA from 1946 and was chairman of the economic department of the World Jewish Congress.

פריטים קשורים: