Leon Pinsker
Encyclopedia
Leon Pinsker was a physician
, a Zionist pioneer and activist, and the founder and leader of the Hovevei Zion
, also known as Hibbat Zion movement.
He inherited a strong sense of Jewish identity from his father, Simchah Pinsker, a Hebrew language
writer, scholar and teacher. Leon attended his father's private school in Odessa
and was one of the first Jews to attend Odessa University, where he studied law. Later he realized that, being a Jew, he had no chance of becoming a lawyer due to strict quotas on Jewish professionals and chose the career of a physician.
Pinsker believed that the Jewish problem could be resolved if the Jews attained equal rights. In his early years, Pinsker favored the assimilation
path and was one of the founders of a Russian language
Jewish weekly. (See also Haskala)
The Odessa pogrom
of 1871 moved Pinsker to become an active public figure. In 1881, a bigger wave of anti-Jewish hostilities, some allegedly state-sponsored, swept southern Russia and continued until 1884. Then Pinsker's views changed radically, and he no longer believed that mere humanism
and enlightenment would defeat antisemitism. In 1884, he organized an international conference of Hibbat Zion
in Katowice (Upper Silesia
, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia
).
His visit to Western Europe led to his famous pamphlet Auto-Emancipation, subtitled Mahnruf an seine Stammgenossen, von einem russischen Juden (Warning to His Fellow People, from a Russian Jew), which he published anonymously in German
on January 1, 1882, and in which he urged the Jewish people to strive for independence and national consciousness. The book raised strong responses, both for and against.
As a professional physician, Pinsker preferred the medical term "Judeophobia" to the recently introduced misnomer
"antisemitism". Pinsker knew that a combination of mutually exclusive assertions is a characteristic of a psychological disorder and was convinced that pathological, irrational phobia
may explain this millennia-old hatred:
His analysis of the roots of this ancient hatred led him to call for the establishment of a Jewish National Homeland, either in Palestine
or elsewhere. Eventually Pinsker came to agree with Moses Lilienblum that hatred of Jews was rooted in the fact that they were foreigners everywhere except their original homeland, the Land of Israel
. He became one of the founders and a chairman of the Hovevei Zion
movement, with the backing of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild
.
In 1890, the Russian authorities approved the establishment of the "Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Eretz Israel", dedicated to the practical aspects of establishing agricultural Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel. Pinsker headed this charity organization, known as the Odessa Committee
.
Disagreements between various Jewish religious and secular factions, an internal movement crisis and the ban by the Ottoman Empire
on Jewish immigration in the 1890s caused Pinsker to doubt whether Eretz Israel would ever become the solution.
Pinsker died in Odessa in 1891. His remains were brought to Jerusalem in 1934 and reburied in Nicanor's Cave next to Mount Scopus
. The town of Nahalat Yehudah near Rishon LeZion is named after him, as well as streets in several towns in Israel.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, a Zionist pioneer and activist, and the founder and leader of the Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion , also known as Hibbat Zion , refers to organizations that are now considered the forerunners and foundation-builders of modern Zionism....
, also known as Hibbat Zion movement.
He inherited a strong sense of Jewish identity from his father, Simchah Pinsker, a Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
writer, scholar and teacher. Leon attended his father's private school in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
and was one of the first Jews to attend Odessa University, where he studied law. Later he realized that, being a Jew, he had no chance of becoming a lawyer due to strict quotas on Jewish professionals and chose the career of a physician.
Pinsker believed that the Jewish problem could be resolved if the Jews attained equal rights. In his early years, Pinsker favored the assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
path and was one of the founders of a Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
Jewish weekly. (See also Haskala)
The Odessa pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
of 1871 moved Pinsker to become an active public figure. In 1881, a bigger wave of anti-Jewish hostilities, some allegedly state-sponsored, swept southern Russia and continued until 1884. Then Pinsker's views changed radically, and he no longer believed that mere humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and enlightenment would defeat antisemitism. In 1884, he organized an international conference of Hibbat Zion
Hibbat Zion
Hibbat Zion may refer to:*Hibat Tzion, a moshav in central Israel.*An alternative name for Hovevei Zion....
in Katowice (Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
).
His visit to Western Europe led to his famous pamphlet Auto-Emancipation, subtitled Mahnruf an seine Stammgenossen, von einem russischen Juden (Warning to His Fellow People, from a Russian Jew), which he published anonymously in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
on January 1, 1882, and in which he urged the Jewish people to strive for independence and national consciousness. The book raised strong responses, both for and against.
As a professional physician, Pinsker preferred the medical term "Judeophobia" to the recently introduced misnomer
Misnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
"antisemitism". Pinsker knew that a combination of mutually exclusive assertions is a characteristic of a psychological disorder and was convinced that pathological, irrational phobia
Phobia
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
may explain this millennia-old hatred:
- "... to the living the Jew is a corpse, to the native a foreigner, to the homesteader a vagrant, to the proprietary a beggar, to the poor an exploiter and a millionaire, to the patriot a man without a country, for all a hated rival."
His analysis of the roots of this ancient hatred led him to call for the establishment of a Jewish National Homeland, either in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
or elsewhere. Eventually Pinsker came to agree with Moses Lilienblum that hatred of Jews was rooted in the fact that they were foreigners everywhere except their original homeland, the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
. He became one of the founders and a chairman of the Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion , also known as Hibbat Zion , refers to organizations that are now considered the forerunners and foundation-builders of modern Zionism....
movement, with the backing of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild
Edmond James de Rothschild
Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Zionism, his generous donations lent significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel.- Early years :A...
.
In 1890, the Russian authorities approved the establishment of the "Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Eretz Israel", dedicated to the practical aspects of establishing agricultural Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel. Pinsker headed this charity organization, known as the Odessa Committee
Odessa Committee
The Odessa Committee, officially known as the Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Palestine, was a charitable, pre-Zionist organization in the Russian Empire, which supported emigration to the Biblical Land of Israel, then Ottoman Syria.The pogroms of 1881-1884 and...
.
Disagreements between various Jewish religious and secular factions, an internal movement crisis and the ban by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
on Jewish immigration in the 1890s caused Pinsker to doubt whether Eretz Israel would ever become the solution.
Pinsker died in Odessa in 1891. His remains were brought to Jerusalem in 1934 and reburied in Nicanor's Cave next to Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
. The town of Nahalat Yehudah near Rishon LeZion is named after him, as well as streets in several towns in Israel.