Dr. Nachman Surkin, Jewish publicist and founder of the Ziouist-Socialist Movement, known under the name of “Poalei Zion” died Saturday in the Mt. Sinai Hospital at the age of fifty-six, after a short illness. He suffered from Diabetes.
The funeral took place Sunday morning with the participation of a large number of his followers. Funeral eulogies were delivered by Dr. Stephen S. Wise, William Edlin, Editor of “The Day”, Mr. Max Pine, Dr. Chaim Chernowitz, Mr. Morris Rothenberg and Dr. A. Corolnick.
Dr. Syrkin was born in M ohilev, Russia, He arrived in the United States in the yar 1908, where he established the Zionist-Socialist Party, “Poalei Zion” of which he was the most noted theoretician in the United States. He was a frequent contributor to many Jewish newspapers in Yiddish, English and Hebrew.
Dr. Syrkin enjoyed an international reputation and had many followers in various countries. An interesting episode in the life of Dr. Syrkin was the conflict he had with the late Zionist leader, Dr. Max Nordau, during the 9th Zionist World Congress which took place in Hamburg, the year 1910.
Dr. Nordau, as Chairman of the Congress, despatched a message of greetings to the Kaiser. As a socialist, Dr. Syrkin protested vidently against the Zionist Congress paying tribue to a Monarch. When Dr. Nordau in reply stated that Dr. Syrkin was a “political adventurer”, Dr. Syrkin slapped Nordau’s face, causing great excitement and commotion at the Congress.
During the last few months of the late Zionist-Socialist leader, he was dominated by a religious mood. On his sick bed, he repeatedly stated that the greatest achievement of the Jewish people was the imparting to the world, the idea of the Unity of God. It was reported from the sick room that h few minutes before he passed away, he said his prayers according to the Orthodox Jewish ritual and died with the expression “Hear, O Isael, The Lord Our God, The Lord is One.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
