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TheJewish Social Democratic Labour Organization in Argentina (Avangard) (Yiddish:יידישע סאציאל-דעמאקראטישע ארבייטער ארגאניזאציאן אין ארגענטינא (אוואנגארד),Yidishe sotsyal-demokratishe arbeyter organisatsyon in argentina (avangard)) was a Jewishsocialist organization inArgentina.Avangard was founded on January 20, 1907, by a group of Jewish socialists inspired by theGeneral Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia.[1][2][3] The organization had its office on Mexico 2070,Buenos Aires.[3]
During its early phase there was a Russian-speaking assimilationist faction withinAvangard, theiskravets group (named after the Russian publicationIskra).[1][2] In 1908 theiskravets faction broke away fromAvangard and founded their own organization,Tsenter Avangard, which was integrated with theSocialist Party as its Yiddish-language propaganda unit.[1][2]Avangard andTsenter Avangard fought over the control of the erstwhileAvangard library.[4] Key figures of the bundistAvangard after the split were Pinie Wald, S. Kaplansky, A. Epshteyn and M. Mas.[4]
In August 1908 the group began publishing the monthlyDer Avangard ('The Vanguard').[1][5] During this the period of 1908–1910Der Avangard mainly re-published Bundist materials coming from the Bund Foreign Committee inGeneva.[3] Contributors toDer Avangard included M. Olguin, Hersz Libman, A. Litvak, I. Salutzky and D. Pinski.[3] The monthly publishing ofDer Avangard was discontinued in December 1909.[1]Der Avangard was again published February–May 1910.[1] In 1910 all the socialist organization in Argentina were forced to suspend their activities under the State of Siege announced during theArgentina Centennial, includingAvangard that hibernated for half a year.[1]
Avangard sought to organize Jewish workers intrade unions, either in general unions together with Christian workers or in explicitly Jewish unions (such as Jewish unions of bakers and cap makers).[1] The organization struggled against theResidence Law (or Cané Law) [es] and the Social Order Law.[1] Politically it was close to theSocialist Party, but the anti-nationalist postures ofAvangard caused frictions with the party.[1] The organization also organized Yiddish-language cultural and education activities.[1] In 1912 the library ofAvangard merged with the library of theUnión General de Obreros Israelitas, creatingBiblioteca Progreso.[2]
Der Avangard resumed publishing in January 1916 (first with S. Kaplansky as its editor and later Pinie Wald), and continued to be published until 1920.[1][2]
DuringTragic Week in 1919, theArgentine Patriotic League attackedAvangard and other supposed 'Jewish maximalist' groups.[5] TheAvangard library on Ecuador 359 in Buenos Aires was burnt by the mob.[5] Leon (Leibl) Futaievsky, anAvangard member, was killed[1][2][6] Pinie Wald was detained.[2][7] Under torture Wald was forced to confess a supposed plot to install aSoviet regime in Argentina.[1][7]
In 1920Avangard was divided into two; a communist majority faction and a socialist minority faction.[1][3][8] The communist faction aligned with theInternational Socialist Party in mid-1920, eventually becoming the Jewish section of theCommunist Party of Argentina in 1921.[2][3][8][9] The socialist faction ofAvangard was refounded as theGeneral Jewish Labour Bund.[1]