[Page 34]

A few months ago, emigrants from the town of Pochayev^[7] near Kremenets joined our organization. Their representative, Mr. Shlome Skolski, has already participated in a meeting of the extended board. On the agenda was adding emigrants from Vishnevits and Shumsk, in the Kremenets district.

Our organization has proved its great abilities in many areas, so we hope that the merger with these people will be successful and that, with it, “new blood” will be added to the active members.

It is worth noting that our members in Argentina have preceded us in this, and their organization includes people from the surrounding towns as well; their official name is Organization of Emigrants from Kremenets and Vicinity.

This is not so in the United States, where the Society includes only Kremenetsers, and even they are New York residents only.

With the latest large increase in printing, paper, wrapping, and postage prices, we had to face the question of whether we would be able to continue publishing the booklet when the required sum is more then we have, even after raising the price for booklet 12 to I£10 (instead of I£6 for booklet 11).

The decision was made to continue even under these conditions. To lighten the expected deficit, we approached a few members who we knew had a warm attitude toward this project and the financial ability to donate a onetime sum to enable us to publish the booklet from now on. This letter was sent on March 20, 1975, and by the end of April, 30 (of 45) members had responded and donated about I£1,200 in amounts of I£25-I£100 each.

[Page 35]

We hope that the rest of them will respond. This fundraiser is open to members whom we did not approach individually, and their pitching in will be a sign that this project does not belong to the few but that the majority of our people are willing to carry the burden.

Here are the donors:

Tel Aviv

Argaman – 50, Bernshteyn – 25, Golberg – 25, Goldenberg Manus – 50, Goltsberg – 25, Vilderman – 25, Viner – 50, Zats – 25, Taytelman – 25, Shifris – 50, Litev – 50, Rokhel – 50, Shtern – 25, Teper – 25, Kesler – 25

Haifa

Portnoy – 100, Dugim – 50, Shtern – 50, Rayzman – 25, Berman – 25, Tsukerman – 25, Kremenetski – 10, Ziger Meir – 100, Gokun Avrasha – 50, Bakimer David – 50, Kindzior Gedalyahu – 50, Milgrom Cherna – 25

Ramat Gan

Katsman – 50.00

Hadera

Yukilis – 50.00

RYB”L Library

The branch (established by the Kremenets organization) at Tel Aviv University is progressing from month to month in volume, quality, contents, and appearance. During 1974 and until May 1975, more than 80 books were added – among them some very rare ones – for which over I£4,500 was paid. Half of this sum came from the organization's funds, and half from the university. Beside those, about 25 books were received as a gift. By now, the collection has 1,330 books and is used as a proper base for the study of Enlightenment literature.

As you know, there is a special club in the university for the study of Enlightenment literature, and its students are helped greatly by the RYB”L Library.

Cataloging the books had been postponed for a long time, as other book collections were ahead of us in line. Now our turn has arrived; the cataloging is progressing and is almost finished. Work on the books that needed to be rebound is completed. After all the books return from being catalogued, they will be sorted and shelved by the professional librarian. By then, the library will look quite nice inside, and the outside will have an artistic appearance, too. Preparations are being made to design a Kremenets Corner near the bookcase, and if it is agreed to, the bust of RYB”L will find its place here, too. By then, the library will be an instrument worthy of its name and purpose in content as well as looks.

[Page 36]

Kremenetsers among the Builders of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (April 4, 1925 – April 4, 1975), our member Avraham Fridel sent us a nice article containing reminiscences of the university's opening ceremony on Mount Scopus. At that time, he was working with a group of Kremenets emigrants – the Biberman brothers, Avraham, Yitschak, Leyb, and Nachman – as a mason. Moshe Rokhel worked in electrical installation; Yitschak Rokhel and his fiancée, Ruchama; Feyga Biberman and her husband, Duvid Hofshteyn; and other Kremenetsers that we could not identify were visiting. In his article, member Fridel mentions the most inspiring music of the fervent and devoted violinist Isaac Stern at the 50th anniversary concert in Jerusalem. Stern, as you know, was born in Kremenets.

Indeed, Kremenetsers have a hand in every pioneering project in the Land. Our blessings to the veterans among us – may they live a long, healthy, and contented life in our Land, may it exist in peace.

Printed in this booklet is our organization's financial report for 1972 and 1973, prepared by Mr. Kendel (for a fee), then edited and prepared for printing by member Rokhel. Also printed here is a separate financial report for the scholarship fund, prepared by member P. Litev. The organization's funds are kept in the Post Office Bank in Israel pounds and in Bank Hapoalim – separately – in Israel pounds and dollars.

The income comes partly from members in the Land and partly from members abroad (the United States, Argentina, Canada, and elsewhere). The main expenditures are for Voice of Kremenets Emigrants and welfare support.

The report was presented late because of the war (the accountant was on active reserve for a long time), so the review board was not free to go over the report. We appeal here to the review board members (Portnoy and Shnayder from Rechovot, Shtern from Holon) to proceed without additional delay; financial dealings of such volume demand review.

[Page 37]

The Legacy of Professor Zev Chasid, of Blessed Memory, Berkeley, United States

With the passing of our distinguished townsman, Zev Chasid, of blessed memory, we received, according to his will, a legacy of $3,000 for the benefit of the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants' projects in Israel.

We held a special discussion to decide on the intended use of the sum. We studied the wording of the will and listened to the opinion of his brother, Avraham Chasid. The conclusion was to use the money as follows:

For Voice of Kremenets Emigrants	$1,000
For the scholarship fund	$500
For the RYB”L Library and other, as yet undesignated projects	$1,500
	$ 3,000

[Page 38]

Visit by a Polish Guest from Kremenets Exiles in London – Yehoshue Golberg

Well-known movie actor Mr. Vladek Shcheybal, Kremenets emigrant and son of Professor Shcheybal, who taught at the Lyceum in Kremenets, visited the Land. Mr. Shcheybal, a permanent resident of London, now has a role in a film being made by an Anglo-American-Israeli production company. The story told in the movie takes place in our country. Mr. Shcheybal brought a book for our library – sent by our townspeople in London – titled “One Who Saves a Single Soul …”: Poles and Jews from 1939 to1945. The book's motto, “One who saves a single soul is as if he saved a whole world,” is from the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37. The book has been translated into English and contains a great deal of factual material.

Mr. Shcheybal was very interested in meeting with our townspeople in our clubhouse. The plan had been to do some filming in the old city of Jaffa, but later the plans changed, and the filming was done only in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. As his schedule became very crowded, he managed to have only a quick look at our clubhouse and was very moved when he saw our town in miniature looking at us from the walls of our clubhouse.

In booklet 10, which was published at the end of 1972, we called on our members to establish a fund for the commemoration of the town of Kremenets and its martyrs. Today, after two and a quarter years, our organization deserves to feel proud for having completed this humane cultural project. At that time, we set ourselves a goal of raising I£60,000, and now we can be congratulated on a job well done.

The donations add up to I£47,432, a sum that is not far from the goal we set for ourselves. Of that sum, I£23,173 came from our members in the Land, and I£24,259 from the United States. Blessed be the donors. The reward for their observing this commandment is the commandment itself.

As we noted in booklet 11, all the money was given to the university, and it is attached to the cost-of-living index. By the end of January of this year, the differences in the attached funds came to I£29,974, and the total amount in the fund as of that date was I£71,356.

[Page 39]

According to our agreement with the university, the interest we receive is intended wholly for scholarships, and by the end of January, this sum was I£6,583. We estimate that by the end of May – the date for awarding the scholarships – the interest will come to about I£8,500, and with the addition of the university's equal share of the scholarship, the sum will double to I£17,000. Out of this, we will have to deduct I£2,500 for the scholarship we gave in 1974, leaving about I£14,500 for the scholarships in summer of 1975.

We have already had preliminary discussions with university personnel on researchers and topics for which we will approve scholarships. A decision on this will be made in our parity committee with university representatives.

I am very pleased to give members this short report and will repeat the words with which I concluded my article in booklet 11: We have brought a cultural and humanitarian project to fruition – a monument to the Kremenets community, a memorial to the martyrs and to the people of our town who fell in wars in Israel. If those results cause the coming generation also not to forget, that will be our reward.

In conclusion, a small group of visionaries is walking around with ideas for another project for our organization, this time directed toward and for the benefit of the children of emigrants from our town. The details have not crystallized as yet, and when the time comes, we will bring our thoughts to the members. May it be so.

[Page 39]

On my three visits to Israel, only for the first, in 1968, as a tourist, was my stay there as a temporary resident. From April 1971 until April 1972, I lived in Israel for a whole year. This year, 1974, I breathed the air of the Land of Israel from July until September, and I found friendship and love with my relatives and friends from Kibbutz Maanit and especially a generous reception from my beloved Kremenetsers in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem, whether at their homes or at the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants club in the Kibbutzim College at specially organized gatherings that last until late in the night.

[Page 40]

Recently, there was a reception for Kremenets immigrants from the Soviet Union: Mrs. Freyda Hofshteyn-Biberman, wife of the famous poet-martyr Duvid Hofshteyn. She recently immigrated to Israel with her daughter Levye, a violinist in the Israel Symphony Orchestra, and Mrs. Dr. Risye Guterman-Fishman with her son, a professor at Bar-Ilan University. In the circle of Tel Aviv Kremenetsers, I was not simply a guest but a co-worker in all their activities, which are of cultural and historical value for the memory of Kremenets Jewry. Their efforts and accomplishments are not only a source of pride and honor for the memory of our city but also for community activities in Israel, which most landsmanshafts cannot equal.

Aside from the permanent club at the Kibbutzim College north of Tel Aviv, where visitors from abroad are received with a warm welcome and where the annual memorial service is held every August 14, in the garden of the college, with a gathering of hundreds of Kremenetsers–our fellow Kremenetsers have fashioned a “library of Enlightenment literature in the name of RYB”L,” which is now part of the Tel Aviv University library.

In conjunction with Tel Aviv University, our Kremenetsers have also created a scholarship fund for research in Enlightenment literature.

All these undertakings have succeeded thanks to the fine editorship of the periodical Kol Yotsei Kremenets, a collective project that unites Kremenetsers around the world.

[Page 41]

At this year's memorial, aside from the inspiring talks by Yosef Zalts and Yehoshue Golberg, and recitations of Shamay Royzenblum, under the leadership of Manus Goldenberg, there were also greetings in Yiddish from the writer of these lines on behalf of Kremenetsers in New York and from Ch. Nudel on behalf of Kremenetsers in Argentina.

Being active in the historical-community cultural labor, Israeli Kremenetsers are faithful to their native tradition of extending aid in secret–in helping individuals and families in need. I have been at board meetings where checks were issued to send to those in need. This was usually done on the eves of holidays like Passover, the High Holidays, Chanukah, and so on.

Who are these people who conduct the activities of the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants in Israel?

Three years ago, during my longer visit to Israel, having become close to the organization's activists and laborers, such as Y. Rokhel, M. Goldenberg, A. Argaman, M. Ot-Yakar, Y. Golberg, Sh. Mitelman, Rachel Nadir, P. Litev, Yehudit Shtern, and many others, I wrote an essay–short portraits or profiles of the group of Kremenets leaders, but the editor was too modest and refused to publish it.

However, I thought that this project was not only for them but also for Kremenets Jewry. So I should be permitted to say a few words in this article to evaluate and thank the people whose address and telephone number are central to everyone, both tourists and Israelis. I refer to our beloved Chane and Manus Goldenberg.

On all my visits to Israel, my first contact has been with Chane and Manus.

[Page 42]

They are warm, generous people. They treat you like one of their own and make you feel at home, whether at their house or with other Kremenetsers.

I have also attended literary and musical evenings with them at Leyvik House or the Sholem Aleichem House. Their home on Yisrael Misalant Street provides a cultured atmosphere.

I should also be allowed to make a small digression of a few personal observations about my trips to Israel. When I come to Israel, a stone falls from my heart. The fear and terror of the New York jungle leave me. I walk openly and freely through the streets day and night, even at midnight. Imbued with pictures from the Pentateuch and Bible from the schoolroom of Teacher Berish at the Potik in my imagination, I cannot be satisfied with their actuality. Ruled as I am by wanderlust, I have traveled through countries and continents (in my youth I spent three years bumming around America), but such panoramas and topographies I have never seen. Traveling in the Egged bus over the Israeli roads, I have been unable to tear my eyes away from the panoramas and ideal images of our sacred land, whether in the cities, fields, deserts, hills, river valleys, and skies. I have absorbed the beloved hot sun, which has bronzed my face and whole body.

My trips to Israel have rejuvenated me physically and spiritually.

Having begun this article about Kremenetsers in Israel and having become so enthused about the Land of Israel, I should say that Kremenets and Kremenets Jews are an integral part of Israel, for whose existence we have sacrificed so many of our dear children.–October 1974, New York

[Page 43]

A few years have gone by since the library's first steps, and now we can wholeheartedly congratulate ourselves on this important and valuable cultural project that continues to grow and develop, and even it its present condition, it is very useful.

The RYB”L Library, donated by the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants to the Ben-Tsion Katz Institute for Research in Hebrew Literature, which functions within the framework of Tel Aviv University's School of Jewish Studies, is established now in the Museum of the Diaspora at the university and includes a serious collection of Hebrew books from the beginning of the Enlightenment period up to the resurrection period. Among the books are rare, priceless works are not found in the central library.

The library serves researchers in the institute and the Hebrew Literature Department, as well as the general university student body and those in the Hebrew Literature Department in particular. The library has a great cultural importance, particularly these days, when the sense of “searching for one's roots” is getting stronger among the youth and the general population, as well as the need to look deep and strengthen the base to the legacy of Hebrew culture. Indeed, the beginning of new Hebrew literature and the whole Zionist revival movement is in the Hebrew Enlightenment movement. Even more so, a true culture is made by multiperiod increments, out of a wide area and depth of time and out of a fruitful meeting between present and past, between the inside and the outside. Enlightenment literature was nourished by Jewish culture and Hebrew tradition on the one hand and European culture on the other, and the strength of this meeting laid the base for the new Hebrew culture.

The establishment of this special library dedicated to Enlightenment literature is an important aid in deepening research on and knowledge of this literature, and we should be thankful for its continual development in size and quality. For that, we owe our thanks, first and foremost, to the tireless efforts of Mr. Rokhel and his partners in the task, Mr. Argaman and Mr. Litev, of blessed memory

These days, the cataloging and organization of the library are being completed, which will make it easier for researchers and students to use it more efficiently. The aesthetic design of the library was improved after a lovely sign was created, and soon a bust of RYB”L, created by the sculptor Epshteyn, will be placed there, which will be a fitting monument to that important researcher and great fighter whom Kremenets brought forth.

[Page 44]

To Yosef and Yemima Avidar, of Jerusalem, on the birth of their granddaughter, Ada, daughter of Dana and Mike Feler of Bet Zayit.

To Masha Barshap of Holon, Avraham's widow, on the marriage of her son, Mula, to his fiancée, Yael.

To Nechama Biberman-Bihem and her husband, of Hadera, on the marriage of their daughter, Chagit, to her fiancé, Amichay Levotshkin.

To Leya and Moshe Bar-Ziv (Fidel), of Haifa, on the birth of their granddaughter, Mikhal, daughter of Yitschak.

To Yitschak (Kitsi) Goltsberg on the marriage of his granddaughter, Rachel, daughter of Mordekhay and Ada, of Mishmar Hashiva, to her fiancé, Ami Shmueli.

To Avraham and Shoshana Gokun, of Haifa, on the birth of their granddaughter, daughter of Mira.

To Shifra and Hertsel Vishniov, of Kibbutz Sarid, on the birth of their twin granddaughters, Tal and Mikhal, to their daughter, Nira, and Nechemya Dayan, of Nahalal.

To Chaya and Avraham Vays (Zeyger), of Haifa, on the marriage of their son, Yitschak, to Rivka Langleyr, and on the birth of their grandson, Arik, son of Yitschak and Rivka Vays.

To Meir and Chaya Zeyger, of Haifa, on the birth of their granddaughter, Tami; on their grandson Ran's bar mitzvah; and on the birth of their granddaughter, Dana, daughter of Giora and Pnina Zeyger.

To Eti and Avraham Chasid, of Herut, on the birth of their granddaughter, Shiri, daughter of their son, Chanan.

To Avraham and Chana Landsberg, of Tel Aviv, on the bar mitzvah of their grandson, Ofer, son of Tsipora and Avraham Geva.

To Leya Tsirlevits-Luftin, of Givat Hashlosha, on the marriage of her grandson, Omer, son of her son, Betsalel, and Aldema – to Osnat.

To David and Sonya Tsukerman, of Haifa, on the birth of their grandson, Yuval, son of Batya and Shraga Berman, and the birth of their grandson, Amir, son of Zev and Sima Tsukerman.

[Page 45]

To Rachel and Aba Kneler, on the bar mitzvah of their son, Arye.

To Fayvel and Alina Rayzman, of Kiryat Chayim, on the marriage of their daughter, Ilana, to Ami.

To Yitschak Rokhel, of Tel Aviv, on the birth of his grandson, Yuval, son of Ido and Sarka, of Eilat.

To Rut Katz, of Haifa, on the birth of her granddaughter, Adva, daughter of Yosi and Shlomit Katz.

Congratulations to Our Townspeople in the Diaspora

To Yitschak Vakman, of New York, and his family, best wishes on his 80th birthday.

To Menucha and Nachman Likht, of Washington, on the marriage of their daughter, Sara Batya, to Yechiel Meir.

Congratulations to young grandparents Helen and Yakov Vaynberg on the birth of their first grandchild, a girl, to their younger son and daughter-in-law, who has a government job in Washington. Their older son is a professor at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba.

Congratulations to the president and treasurer of the Kremenets Society in New York on their golden wedding anniversary.

Manya is from the Lerer family in Kremenets. Her husband was born in Safed, Israel. We wish them many long years and that they should continue their activities in preserving the memory of our beloved, destroyed city.

[Page 46]

Several months ago, an active member of the Pochayever Landsmanshaft Organization, Shlome Skulski, proposed that we combine with their organization. The idea appealed to us (incidentally, the yizkor book that our landsmen in Argentina produced included the Pochayever community), and Skulski, who became part of our board, started to make the idea a reality. It is to be hoped that other landsmanshafts from towns around Kremenets will unite with us.

Because of a rise in prices, the costs of printing and of paper have gone up. This raises the question of whether we have the power to continue with Kol Yotsei Kremenets, the thing that binds our landsmen around the world together. To continue publishing our booklets, we have raised the price to 10 Israeli lirot instead of 6. To make up our deficit, we have approached a number of our members for donations to benefit Kol Yotsei Kremenets. So far, we have approached 30 members, who have donated 1,200 Israel lirot, ranging from 25 to 100 Israeli lirot. We await other members' contributions so that we can continue with our journal.

Our library is developing at a rapid pace in both numbers and contents. Since last year it has added over 80 books, rarities among them.

[Page 47]

The books cost 4,500 Israeli lirot. Half was paid by the university. The whole collection has 1,300 books that serve as a foundation for the study of Enlightenment literature.

As is known, there is a special group at the university that studies Enlightenment literature. The students in this group make good use of our library. The books have been put in order and bound. They will all take their appropriate place in the library. On the inside cover is an artistic inscription, the work of Avrasha Argaman (see the picture at the end of the excerpt). The bronze bust of Y. B. Levinzon will soon be put in place.

In association with the jubilee celebration of the opening of Jerusalem University, member Avraham Fridel sent us an article in which he describes the historical moment.

Avraham Fridel, the brothers Avraham, Yitschak, Leyb, and Nachman Biberman, as well as Moshe Roykhel and other Kremenetsers, were among the builders of the university.

In this booklet we offer the annual accounting for 1972-73, which was done by Mr. Kandel (which we paid for) and prepared for publication by Yitschak Roykhel.

There is also a separate report on the stipend fund by member Pesach Litev (Litvak), of blessed memory. The funds are deposited in Bank HaDoar in Israeli lirot and in Bank HaPoalim in lirot and dollars. The organization's income comes from members from abroad (Argentina, America, Canada, etc.). The major expenses are Kol Yotsei Kremenets, the memorial service, aid and support for those in need, etc. …

[Page 48]

Kremenets Poles' Nostalgia

Yehoshue Golberg

The editors of Kol Yotsei Kremenets have received a picture of Kremenets after the war. The picture was sent by a Polish woman (a Kremenetser) who now lives in Poland. On the reverse of the picture, she wrote a poem full of longing for Kremenets.

We present here the poem in its original Polish and a free translation into Yiddish.

Dedicated to my dear Kremenets landsmen …

All of us come from somewhere,
Some from Lithuania, some from Romania,
Some from Lodz or from Brody,
But you and I come from, were born, in the city of Kremenets.
I have been removed from the valleys, the woods, and the broad banks …
We are not allowed to return.
Erasing me from the living,
They expel me, throw me over the border.
But how can they forbid my longing???

[Page 49]

A Reception in Honor of our Fellow Citizen Yosef Sofer at the College

M.G.

Yosef Sofer, Kuna the carpenter's son, has long lived in Kharkov, Ukraine, where his children and grandchildren also live. After long efforts, the Russian government permitted him to visit Israel, so a few months ago he arrived. Yosef's brother, Avraham, lives in Lod. Yosef found him to be ill, confined to his bed.

At the gathering we organized in his honor, Yosef told about his and his children's lives in Kharkov, arousing a great interest in the audience.

Until recently Yosef worked in a plant. Now he is retired, which allows him, in his words, to make a life.

He is one of the constant attendees at his synagogue in Kharkov. Usually he comes to pray on festivals and the High Holidays. He travels to Kremenets every year to visit his family graves. In that connection, he says that living in Kremenets is an old porter (whose name, sadly, is not recorded) who married a non-Jew, who had saved him. This old man always goes to the cemetery with him and says Kaddish and the appropriate psalms.

After his brief visit, Yosef returned to Kharkov.

On April 14 of this year, our board received Avraham Yardenski, the son of the ritual slaughterer Duvid Shikhman, and his wife at the college. Yardonski, with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren, immigrated to Israel two months ago.

[Page 50]

Avraham left Kremenets in 1920, in the bloody days ruled by Ukraine. With several young men from Kremenets, he then joined the Russian army as they fought against the Petliuras, Denikinses, and other bands who drowned many Jewish cities and towns in Ukraine in blood.

When the slaughters ended, Yardenski settled in Moscow, and he lived there with his family until they came to Israel.

Avraham spoke for the whole evening about his experiences over the years. Among other things, we heard from him about several Kremenetsers who, like him, left our city 55 years ago. We also heard from him about our fellow citizen Yosef Shnayder (Velvel Shnayder's brother), who, according to him, showed himself to be a terrifying, bold fighter. Y. Shnayder will be remembered by us elsewhere in this booklet.

Avraham's warm feelings for his old home, which he displayed that evening, are hard to describe. When he heard from us what our organization has done to preserve the memory of our city, he thanked us enthusiastically, with tears in his eyes.

Avraham and his family are now located in an adjustment center near Jerusalem. We wish them an easy adjustment.

We should note that our sun has shone down on them and given them a healthy bronze color.

[Page 51]

Reception for Our Landsmen, Guests from Argentina

On Saturday evening, May 10, at our hall in the college, we held a reception for guests from Argentina, Shoshana and Chayim Mordish, and Chane and Chayim Fayer. Chayim Mordish is the chair of the Kremenets landsmanshaft in Buenos Aires. His wife Shoshana is active in different landsmanshaft projects. Chayim Fayer is very active in the landsmanshaft and over the years has participated with his whole being. The same can be said about his wife Chane, who is one of the leaders of the landsmanshaft's Women's Committee.

Now that our friends have crossed the threshold into Israel, we met them at their hotel. When my wife and I visited them that same night, we felt their warmth and hospitality from the first minute, as if they had come not from distant and foreign Buenos Aires but directly from our little, longed-for old home. We saw before us people like us, truly devoted to Israel and wanting to see everything but also interested in meeting with more Kremenetsers.

And they achieved that, with our help in Tel Aviv and that of Itke Shtern and Izye Portnoy in Haifa.

It is no wonder, then, that the reception at the college had a special character and surpassed all that had come before. The number of those attending was more than ever before. A number came specially from Haifa and other places. Almost all the invited Israelis were members and friends of the guests. Their encounters were quite moving For a long while in the hall our guests were taken with those aspects of Kremenets that, sadly, remain only [as pictures] on the walls and in the yizkor book for the murdered families.

[Page 52]

Everyone went into the roomy lecture room that the college board had put at our disposal.

At a set table in the brightly lit room, everyone sat comfortably. There was soon an atmosphere that summoned a host of mutual recollections. The welcoming speech by the writer of these lines was followed by a word from our Argentinian guests. They described the situation of Jews in Argentina in general and of our landsmen in particular. After a splendid past, which everyone enjoyed hearing about, the landsmanshaft has recently grown weaker. This has biological roots (age, illness, and death) as well as economic causes. But the members are committed to continuing, as much as possible, with distributing Kol Yotsei Kremenets and with our memorial projects. Also taking part was Chayim Nudel, who a short time ago immigrated to Israel. As was noted in the welcoming speech, he had become a citizen of Israel, but he had not withdrawn from the Argentinian landsmanshaft. From their speeches and from what Mordekhay Katz, their indefatigable secretary, often writes to us, we can be sure that the close partnership between the landsmanshafts in Israel and Buenos Aires will continue.

Since this meeting occurred exactly 30 years after the victory over the Nazis, part of the evening was devoted to that event. We felt at one with the victims of the crimes, victims that included us. Yehuda Kaufman (Shikhman) recited Leyvik's well-known poem, “R' Nachman of Bratslav,” about the Regensburg death camp, and then sang with everyone participating.

[Page 53]

When the Argentinians then brought up memories of their first years in Argentina, they longingly recalled the Shikhmans' house, which served as a welcoming center for newly arrived Kremenetsers.

The father of the extended Shikhman family, the universally esteemed patriarch, R' Duvid the ritual slaughterer, of blessed memory, was the patron of Kremenetsers in Buenos Aires until he immigrated to Israel, together with his son, Yehuda Kaufman, and family.

Although it was already late and members from Haifa had to get the last bus, no one wanted to leave. Finally, Shike Golberg recounted an interesting episode about himself and Sender Shepsel's son in their military service, the night before Yom Kippur, a few hours before attacking the German trenches.

Our parting, like the beginning of the meeting, was very moving. This extraordinary gathering will long live in the hearts of our members who took part.

[Page 54]

Among our organization's projects, we must credit him as being the initiator and a partner in making the collection for the organization's booklet more efficient through the Post Office Bank, the scholarship fund – named for RYB”L – at Tel Aviv University, the agreement with the university for the RYB”L Library, and the agreement concerning the scholarship fund, the quick fundraising event to benefit the booklet, and the idea of starting a special scholarship fund for the descendants of Kremenets emigrants. This idea has not as yet been acted on, but he made sure to pledge a certain amount of money in advance for this humanitarian project.

Litev's initiatives and activities were not limited to our organization's framework but were widespread outside as well. Pinkas Kremenets^[8], (published in 1954) includes the story of his early public work during the World War II: his concern that there be schools for the refugees who concentrated in Kremenets at that time, his involvement in the care of the Hebrew kindergarten, and his mission to Warsaw. While in Warsaw, the young Pesach stood out in his talent and devotion to his assignment. When the Pioneer Center and the Israel office demanded that he postpone his immigration for a time to help them with their work, he granted their request and immigrated only in 1929. By that time, he had already married Polya, who was at his side throughout his life. In Warsaw, he became involved in the activities of the Joint and continued with that work after he immigrated to Israel and settled in Jerusalem.

[Page 55]

Later, this activity took a different form, with the establishment of Organization for the Care of Handicapped Immigrants^[9], and Litev was taken on as the second to Mr. Pesman, the institution's administrator. There he functioned for a long time, and in reality was doing the organization administrator's job because of Mr. Pesman's frequent absences. This work opened up a broad range of activities for him in social work, a field that suited his character and abilities very well, as he was basically a person who truly loved his fellow men and seeks to improve their lot. On the other hand, this task put him in charge of a staff of 2,000 workers, whom he wished the best for, too. Naturally, from time to time, some conflicts arose between those two – to favor those needing support over satisfying the workers' demands. But Litev, with his natural tact and pleasant personality, usually found the middle way without friction, and he served as a guiding personality for the workers.

With the reduction in the organization's activities for budgetary reasons, Litev made sure that the aid institutions (homes for the aged, hospitals, etc.) were not shut down but were transferred to governmental authorities.

When Litev reached retirement age, he transferred to Yika – a company that mainly deals in establishing workers' settlements and helping them develop. There, too, he began under the guidance of Mr. Pesman, and later he took on the responsibility of the general directorship in London. Among other things, he initiated and developed few a joint economic ventures for the settlements and won their praises and affection. Just as Litev liked people, people also liked him.

While doing his regular jobs, he found time for other functions for the public benefit, particularly since the country's independence. For a time, he served as the treasurer of the National Security Department, where, among other things, he insisted on internal checks and inspections, which eventually saved this department from serious mishaps. His tasks at the Joint and the Organization for the Care of Handicapped Immigrants linked him to donors in the United States. From time to time, he made trips to the United States, to the benefit of a few public enterprises in Israel.

In that way, he set up the monetary base for the establishment of Shalom Aleichem House and the Sharet Fund, which had a total of $7 million-$8 million through his mediation, and established a health center for cancer patients in Jerusalem. Litev was a gregarious man, and his connections were useful in helping individuals and public enterprises. He joined B'nai Brith, and when he reached the age of 75, a celebration was arranged in his honor. I was present and witnessed the affection he received from the organization's members (called brothers).

[Page 56]

Late in his life, Litev discovered that in the area he lived in, the Tel Aviv suburb of Yad Eliyahu, was a club named for Mr. Eshkol under the auspices of Tel Aviv Workers' Council. It was almost abandoned, while a few hundred resident pensioners, some quite elderly, had no place to congregate. Litev established contact between the retirees' organization and the building's owners, and the clubhouse was leased as a meeting place for the elderly. At this time, it is in the first stages of development.

A few years ago, Pesach purchased a plot in the Afula cemetery, and according to his will, he was buried there.

He left a wife, three sisters, and two brothers-in-law, as well as a daughter and grandchildren.

This was the way of life of Pesach Litev, the Kremenetser son of R' Binyamin Litvak the candymaker, whose factory was near the Kazatski Study Hall.

In his last years, he suffered from a heart ailment but did not abandon his activities. In spite of his high standing at work and in society, he was humble in his ways and strived to better the lives of his fellow men.

At his funeral, it was said of him: Pesach was one of the 36 righteous people^[10].

Woe for the lost ones, who cannot be forgotten. Our condolences to his family.

[Page 57]

February 25, 1907-February 3, 1975 From Aley Dafna[11], no. 627 My lot be with you, life's oppressed, muted souls Leading their life in secret … modest thinkers and doers Hidden dreamers, sparing with words and full of glory.

Ch. N. Bialik

[Page 58]

Arye Bedolakh – Leybel – was blessed by nature with simplicity, honesty, and friendliness. He did not aspire to greatness. He immersed himself completely in his work and did his tasks with devotion and consistency. He was a person whose strength is in simplicity and self-fulfillment. He followed the path of labor without hesitation and musings, as an obvious thing; he lived the kibbutz life and loved it.

Leybel loved nature and experienced it keenly. One day, he brought a coffee plant from Kibbutz Givat Brener, planted it in the garden near his home, erected a frame around it, wrapped it up in sacks, and spared no effort to protect it. In spite of Dafna's northern climate, he succeeded in raising the coffee plant. His friend wrote, “I congratulated him on his success, and he lit up with happiness.”

In the last years of his life, his health deteriorated, and he suffered quietly. For few weeks, he stayed in his sickbed at the hospital in Safed until he gave up and died.

He leaves his wife, Sara, and three sons, who are living in Dafna and following in his path.

May his memory be blessed.

David Katz

Dosya received an electrical engineering degree in Germany and worked at a power station in Paris for three years, after which he was in charge of the electric system in Kremenets for 13 years. He was gregarious and well liked by his fellow citizens.

When World War II began, he escaped to Russia, where he met up with Zev (Velya) Shumski and Munek Katz. The Russians, who did not believe their claim that they were Kremenets citizens escaping from the Germans, thought the three were spies and stopped them under threat of death.

[Page 59]

Miraculously, they managed to persuade the Russians that they used to be citizens of Kremenets, and they were saved. After their release, they arrived in Tashkent, where Dosya got a job running the X-ray department of a large hospital.

Often in Russia, he faced the abyss of despair because of the human element with which he had to work, but he overcame it thanks to his firm belief and hope that eventually he would succeed in getting out of there. Dosya joined the Anders Army when it was organized in Russia, and with it, he went to Iran. Being proficient in English, he was recruited to the British air force and was sent to India. From there, he was transferred to England and took part in the invasion of Normandy. After the conquest, he was sent to France to help the Resistance fight the Nazi invaders and to help with the liberation of the concentration camps.

For those activities, he received the Nazi-fighter medal from the ministry of defense.

Dosya's parents were saved in Poland due to forged documents, his sister Tamar survived in France, and his sister Reya and her husband survived in Russia. This is almost the only family that survived in its totality among thousands of families annihilated in the Holocaust. His parents immigrated to Israel from France in 1946 and joined Dosya's brother, Shimon, who had been in Israel since 1934. Dosya did not get permission from the British to immigrate, in spite of serving in their air force, but he got a good job in Australia. When his brother Shimon passed away in 1951, Dosya immigrated to Israel and got a job at headquarters of the Workers' Health Fund^[13] in the same capacity that his brother had fulfilled. We note that the brothers Katz, first Shimon and then Dosya, established an electrical department for the Workers' Health Fund , which oversees all of its hospitals' electrical systems.

Dosya was a very responsible, organized person, so devoted to his job that when he was on vacation outside the country with his wife, he would go to different hospitals to see advances in the electric health field and, when he returned home, he would insist on adopting those improvements in the hospitals for the purpose of giving better health services to patients.

After going through all the tests in the hospital, and before the fateful surgery, he was at home for a few days. At that time, the people responsible for working in the field of electricity came to confer with him and receive instructions on what to do and how. He took care of each detail and remembered which plan was in which drawer.

[Page 60]

In spite of all his wife's pleas, he felt that it was his duty, even during his illness, to put everything in order.

Dosya was a great patriot for our country, standing firm against all temptations – job offers from important firms in Switzerland and the United States. Beside his expertise in electricity, he was proficient in seven or eight languages, which made him a desired employee by many world-renowned companies.

Dosya leaves a wife and two daughters in Israel and two sisters abroad.

May his memory be blessed.

He came from a poor family; his mother worked as a baker and cook for weddings; his sister, Etil, worked as a maid for Eliyahu Fishman in the Dubno^[14] suburb; and his brother, Tsale, who was tall and strong, worked in portage and other jobs.

Mordekhay – son of Avraham – was apprenticed to tailor Chayim Nudel in Kremenets. He was active in the Kremenets Communist Party, for which the Polish government arrested him, together with the Rayz brothers and others.

[Page 61]

With the start of World War II, when the Russian army entered Kremenets, he was released from prison. He spent the war years in Russia, arrived in the Land with the Anders Army, and stayed. He took part in the War of Independence and the fight for Jerusalem. After his discharge from the army, he went through many experiences and worked in different jobs. He was lonely, without a family or relatives.

As a result of a mental breakdown, he was hospitalized for over 20 years in Akko. In his frequent visits to my home in Akko during his hospitalization and in his talks with me, he exhibited an unusual memory and remembered many people from our town. He was interested in our people's welfare and felt sorry that he could not keep in touch with them personally.

During the past year, his physical and mental condition deteriorated.

He passed away before his time at the age of 58. He was buried in the Akko cemetery.

May his memory be blessed.

Besides his wife and daughters with their children, Leyb leaves two sisters and a brother in Argentina, his sister Sonya in the Soviet Union, and his sister Zina (Pesach Koler's wife) and her family in Petach Tikva.

We send our condolences to the relatives and friends of the departed.

[Page 62]

To Leya (Leytsi) Klorfayn-Limonchik, on the passing of her husband, Shraga. He leaves two sons, a daughter, and grandchildren.

To the Shifman family of Kfar Maas (near Petach Tikva) on the passing of loyal wife, devoted mother, and grandmother Sonya Sher, of our town.

She leaves a husband, four daughters, grandchildren, and a brother in Kishinev.

To Moshe (Munek) Troshinski on the passing of his wife, Rachel, from heart failure at the age of 62. She leaves a married daughter, two sons, grandchildren, two sisters, and four brothers Gorodetski, all living in Israel.

To Rachel Gutman-Maharshak of Givat Hashlosha on the passing of her husband, Beni Maharshak, of blessed memory.

To Leya Lopatin-Tsirlevits of Givat Hashlosha and her sister Hinda of Rishon LeTsion, on the passing of their sister Dvora after a long illness.

To Talya Berkovits-Teper of Rishon Letsion on the death of her husband, Chanokh, of blessed memory. He leaves his wife, Talya; a daughter; a son; and grandchildren.

To all the relatives and friends of Shifra Baleban – widow of Yisrael Baleban, of blessed memory, and daughter of Chayim Bakimer – who passed away in Tel Aviv at the age of 77. She leaves a son in New York, as well as a married daughter and grandchildren, living in the Land.

Brurya Vorer, of blessed memory, passed away on August 27, 1974, at the age of 62.

The daughter of Yehoshue Vorer, known as Shaya Shilem's, she immigrated to Israel in 1935 and worked most of her life in the Workers' Health Fund. Being loyal and industrious, she was well liked by the rest of the staff. She was devoted to the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants and came to the memorial every year. She was decent and modest in her ways, and maintained friendly relationships with her relatives and a small circle of friends. In the last years of her life, she suffered from depression, and was hospitalized in a mental institution in the town of Natanya. When she developed intestinal cancer, she was transferred to Meir Hospital for surgery, but it did not help.

She is buried in the cemetery in Holon. Condolences to the Rokhel family, the Biberman family, Dr. Averbakh's family, and her friends. May her memory be blessed.

To the extensive Shnayder family, in the Land and abroad, on the death of Moshe Shnayder (engineer), who was killed in a work-related accident in Haifa.

[Page 63]

The board of the Kremenets Landsmen's Union in Buenos Aires, the Women's Committee, and all our members give heartfelt regards to Chayim Mordish and committee members Nute Kiperman and Moshe Peker on their health. We wish them many healthy and active years for our Kremenets Landsmen's Union.

The board and the Women's Committee join in the horror that has beset Mrs. Manye Fishman on the loss of her beloved husband, Yasha Fishman, may he rest in peace. We hope that she knows no more sorrow.

Pesach Ditun, May He Rest in Peace

We feel compelled to remember the name of longtime member and supporter of the Kremenets Landsmen's Union Pesach Ditun (R' Shlome Leyb's son) on the second anniversary of his passing. Pesach Ditun, may he rest in peace, was an uncommon person: well-known, quiet, honest, modest, and artless. As the folk saying goes: “He wouldn't hurt a fly on the wall.” In today's materialistic world, such a man is a treasure not to be found.

It often seemed that he was from another separate world, or from the world that will be at the end of days. His wife, Leyeke Tsiperfin Ditun, his son Mendel, and his daughter Rachel have all immigrated to Israel.

May his memory be honored!

Berel Kiperman, May He Rest in Peace

May of this year marks the first anniversary of the death of Berel Kiperman, may he rest in peace, who was a member of the Kremenets landsmanshaft in Buenos Aires. He was a longtime member and supporter, with the special characteristics of a completely upright man. We hope his widow, Mrs. Rase Kiperman, and his only son, Simon, find comfort in the good reputation he left behind.

Blessed be his memory!

[Page 64]

Pinye Burbel, May He Rest in Peace

The news that Pinye Burbel passed away struck us like thunder.

In recent years, he was active on the board of the Kremenets Union. Last year he suddenly traveled to North America to his daughter, and a couple of months later we heard that he was no longer alive. He died of a serious illness. He was a quiet, intelligent, and generous person, endowed with good qualities. We hope his wife Anita and his family find comfort in his good reputation.

Honor to his memory!

Elka Rozenberg, May She Rest in Peace

It has been a couple of months since the unique woman Mrs. Elka Rozenberg, may he rest in peace, has left us. She was Chayim's wife and Yonatan's (in Haifa) sister-in-law. She was a generous, smart woman, a true woman of valor with a host of good qualities. We extend sincere sympathy to her husband, Chayim, her daughters, Ester and Sheyndel, her brother-in-law, Itsik, and her in-laws, Shama and Sore Fishman. Find comfort in her good name and know no more sorrow.

Yasha Fishman, May He Rest in Peace

Last month, our Yasha Fishman, may he rest in peace, also left us.

For a long time, he was an active member of the board, and he was a co-worker in the publication of the Kremenets yizkor book.

[Page 65]

A previous list is in Booklet 11, page 56.

For donations for the stipend fund, see page [blank]. There we give a full account, including sums from abroad.

For the benefit of Kol Yotsei Kremenets
4/20/74	Rozenblit, America	$ 15
10/10/74	Morris Medler, Tucson, Arizona, America	20
10/30/74	Valke Kagan, New York	50
11/13/74	Professor Mark Katz, New York	25
11/13/74	Yosef Margolis, Winnipeg, Canada	100
2/13/75	Duvid Rapaport, New York	25
3/15/75	Professor Zev Chasid, of blessed memory, Berkeley, California, according to his will	1000
4/20/75	Max Desser, Winnipeg, Canada	15
4/20/75	Yosef Margolis, Winnipeg, Canada	100
4/28/75	Mark (Manus) Desser, Winnipeg, Canada	20	$1,370
For Necessities
3/13/75	Yitschak Vakman, New York	$100
For the RYB”L Library and Other Organization Activities
4/10/74	Harry Shteynberg, Montreal, Canada	100
4/28/74	Nuta Kiperman, Argentina	40
3/15/75	Professor Zev Chasid, of blessed memory, Berkeley, California, according to his will	1,500
5/8/75	Chayim Mordish, Argentina	100
5/8/75	Chayim Fayer, Argentina	100	$1,840
Total			$3,310
In Israeli currency
2/25/75	For Kol Yotsei Kremenets, Liberman, Paris	120 Israeli lirot

[Page 66]

At Tel Aviv University, for Research on Enlightenment Literature

As of May 1, 1975, the following donations had been received and handed over to university's finance office. According to the list published in Voice of Kremenets Emigrants, booklet 11, p. 17, as of March 20, 1974, we had received the following sums:

18 donors, individual and organizational, the total sum of	I£27,914
19. Margalit, Yosef, Haifa	1,000
20. Berger siblings, Givat Brener and Haifa	800
21. 12 donors in the Land, board members and others	620
22. Shnayder, Zev, Detroit, United States, $300 (plus $300 listed earlier = $600)	1,798
23. Professor Mark Katz, New York, $2,500 (plus $1,000 listed earlier = $3,500)	12,300
24. Bequest of Prof. Zev Chasid, Berkeley, United States, $500	3,000
Total	I£47, 432

Note: According to the contract with Tel Aviv University, to this sum were added funds for cost-of-living increases and interest, as explained in member P. Litev's article, “Toward the Completion of the Scholarship Fund,” on page 38 of this booklet.

[Page 67]

Income			1972		1973
Balance at the start of the year
Bank Hapoalim checking account			395		881
Post Office Bank			531		96
In $, in the Post Office account ($2,113.37 x I£4.20)			8,877	9,803	6,421	7,398
Income from members in the Land
Membership dues, paid on Memorial Day			1,144		962
For Voice of Kremenets Emigrants and necrologies			1.027		2.001
For the RYB”L Library			300		--
For welfare assistance – 136.00 and Teresova fund – 55.00			191		100
Loan repayments			60		170
Interest from Bank Hapoalim			6		15
Interest from a short-term loan			--	2,728	84	3,332
Income from other countries – in dollars	1972	1973
For Voice of Kremenets Emigrants	120	313
For the RYB”L library	75	--
For welfare assistance	150	100
For scholarships	300	--
For the organization's assorted activities	140	86
Interest on dollars in the post office account	52	70
	837	569		3,515		2,390
Income from other countries in Israel pounds
For Voice of Kremenets Emigrants			708		1,045
For the Teresova fund – Poland			--		215
Sums against parallel U.S. expenditures in 1972			--	708	1,785	3,045
For Voice of Kremenets Emigrants
	Total income			16, 754		16,165

[Page 68]

Expenditures	1972		1973
Voice of Kremenets Emigrants		2,476		2,737
RYB”L Library		1,540		145
Memorial for the martyrs of Kremenets		408		565
Welfare, support for the needy		494		1,146
Shmuel Shnayder scholarship for research on Enlightenment literature (see parallel income)		1,250		1,260
Receptions for out-of-country guests, board meetings		168		259
Organizational expenditures
Telephone	145		209
Post office	105		196
Travel	169		217
Office supplies	82	501	61	683
Assorted expenditures
Paid accountant	440		300
Fundraising expenses	187		301
Bank account	7		25
Sums against parallel income in 1973	1,785	2,149	--	626
Total expenses	9,356		7,421
Year-end balance
In Bank Hapoalim – checking account	881		4,719
In the Post Office Bank	96		36
In dollars, p.m.z. account:	$1,525	6,421
	$944	7,398	3,989	8,744
Total		16,754		16,165

  Kremenets, Ukraine     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 05 Mar 2023 by JH