Yehoshua Yeivin | |
|---|---|
יהושע ייבין | |
 | |
| Born | (1891-05-10)May 10, 1891 |
| Died | April 13, 1970(1970-04-13) (aged 78) |
| Political party | Brit HaBirionim |
Yehoshua Heschel Yeivin (Hebrew:יהושע השל ייבין; 10 May 1891 — 13 April 1970; also spelled Yehoshua Yevin) was an Israeli doctor, writer, translator, journalist, and leader within theRevisionist Zionist movement.
Yehoshua Heschel Yeivin was born on 10 May 1891 inVinnytsia, in the south-west of theRussian Empire (todayUkraine), to parents Yisrael (Isaac) and Rachel (née Marshalkovich) Yeivin. Both parents came from middle-class, traditionalHasidic families; Yisrael was a descendant of the Rabbi Jacob Yosef ofOstroh. At the age of four, Yehoshua was orphaned, and from then on was raised by his grandmother inMezhirichi.[1]
Yeivin received a traditional Jewish education, initially studyingTorah andMishnah privately, before continuing his education at the Hebrew Gymnasium inVilna. He was said to have excelled in his religious education and that, by eight years old, he had already memorized the entireBook of Isaiah.[2]
From a young age, he was interested inZionist ideas, serving as a member of the "Yavna" Zionist Association and as a member of the local "Foreign Language Enthusiasts" club, where he gave lectures in Hebrew.
Yeivin later studied medicine at theUniversity of Moscow. After completing his studies, he was drafted into theRussian Army and served as a doctor during theFirst World War. Following the war, he began a literary career in bothYiddish andHebrew, publishing poems, short stories, and reflections in local Jewish publications. Many of his early works reflect on his experiences in the war. In 1919, his story "Amongst the Evening Shadows" ("בין צללי ערב") was published in theOdessa-based magazineMashuat ("משואות"), edited byMoshe Glikson (later the editor ofHa'aretz newspaper).[2]
In 1919, he moved to Vilna, where he made his living as a doctor and as a Hebrew teacher; soon after, he decided to focus on his literary career rather than medicine. By 1922, he moved toBerlin, where he became active in theleft-wing Zionist organizationPoale Zion and began to work full-time as a writer and translator. He translated several works ofFrench literature into Hebrew and Yiddish, including works byRomain Rolland,Guy de Maupassant, andHenri Bergson.
In 1922, he married Miriam-Atara Margolin, the daughter of publisherShraga Feivel Margolin.[2] In 1923 their first son,Yisrael, was born. The following year, the family madealiyah, relocating toMandatory Palestine.
In 1924, Yeivin was hired by theHistadrut, the largest Jewishtrade union in Palestine, to work as a teacher in theJezreel Valley. Yeivin was active in the labour movement and published regularly inLabour Zionist journals.[2]
In 1926 his second son, Ze'ev, was born. In 1928, following financial hardships, the family left Palestine and temporarily relocated to Berlin, returning to Palestine in 1930.[3]
Yeivin, increasingly dissatisfied with what he regarded as the privileging ofsocialism over Zionist goals, split with the Labour Zionist movement in 1928. He then moved towards theright-wingRevisionist movement.
In February 1928, he participated in a summit of Revisionist Zionist workers, and founded the "Revisionist Labour Group" ("גוש העבודה הרוויזיוניסטי") alongsideAbba Ahimeir andUri Zvi Greenberg. From then on, Yeivin became one of the main thinkers ofRevisionist Maximalist ideology, afar-right variant of Zionism which took inspiration from the militant practices ofItalian fascism. He was hired byZe'ev Jabotinsky to contribute toDoar Ha'Yom (דאר היום), a daily founded byItamar Ben-Avi.[3] By 1929, the newspaper had become one of the major Revisionist mouthpieces, and Yeivin took on an editorial role.[1] He would also serve as editor atHa'Zit Ha'Am (חזית העם).[4]
Following the1929 Palestine riots, in 1930, Ahimeir, Greenberg, and Yeivin foundedBrit HaBirionim (ברית הבריונים), a clandestine, militant, and self-declaredfascist group. Brit HaBirionim sought to overthrow British rule in Palestine and establish a Jewish state based on nationalist,integralist principles.[5] The group participated in several actions, mostly anti-British in nature, including organizing protests against the British-led census and against visits from British officials. Members of Brit HaBirionim defied British orders by blowing theshofar at theWestern Wall in 1930. In 1933, the group firebombed theGerman consulate in Jerusalem and tore down theswastika flag from German consulates in Jerusalem and Jaffa.[4]
Following the assassination of Labour Zionist leaderHaim Arlosoroff in 1933, members of Brit HaBirionim were accused of complicity.[4] Yeivin was imprisoned for four months inJerusalem, being released in November 1934.[2] The trial damaged the group's reputation and led to the dissolution of Brit HaBirionim.
From 1937 to 1939, Yeivin served as a publicist and journalist for theIrgun, publishing articles in the Palestine-based papersHa'Metzudah (המצודה) andOmer La'Am (אומר לעם), as well as the underground Poland-based, Yiddish-language paperDi Tat (די טאַט).[2] In 1939, he began to write broadcasts for the Irgun-led radio station, Kol Zion Ha'Lochemet (קול ציון הלוחמת), alongsideAvraham ("Yair") Stern andDavid Raziel.[2]
Yeivin also published a monograph on his friend and political collaborator Uri Zvi Greenberg, titledUri Zvi Greenberg, the Poet-Lawyer (אורי צבי גרינברג משורר מחוקק), in 1936. Greenberg lived with the Yeivin family throughout the 1930s and 1940s.[3]
From 1940 to 1948, Yeivin continued to write and translate literature. He published short stories and political essays, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state based on Biblical borders, in the monthly journalSolam (סולם).[2][3]
His second son, Ze'ev, became a member ofLehi in 1946.[6]
After theestablishment of theState of Israel in 1948, Yeivin's political publishing became less frequent. He also began to suffer from health problems, and was going blind.[3][2]
In 1959, despite the loss of his eyesight, he won Israel's National Bible Championship.[7][8][3]
In 1966, Yeivin was presented with the Jabotinsky Award for his contributions to literature.[2]
Yeivin's wife, Miriam-Atara, died in 1966 at the age of 70.[9] The couple's first son,Yisrael, was a lecturer in Hebrew language and literature at theHebrew University of Jerusalem, who was awarded theIsrael Prize in 1989 for his contributions to the study of the Hebrew language. His second son, Ze'ev, served as a member of Lehi until 1948, at which point he joined theIsrael Defence Forces, with whom he would serve until 1951. Later, Ze'ev studied geography, geology, and history at Hebrew University. He earned a PhD in 1971 and worked in Israel's Antiquities Authority until 1991.[6]