Voice of Kremenets Emigrants in Israel and the Diaspora,
Booklet 13

Kremenetsers in Afula, 1926	8
Kremenets City Council, 1939	15
Misha Shnayder	25
Talya Teper-Berkovits	27
Dr. Yisrael (Izye) Rabinovits	29
Borye Basis	30
Yair Vishniov	33

Akshteyn, Ana	42
Akshteyn, Arye	42
Akshteyn*, Chana (née Golberg)	42
Apelboym, Leyb	48
Apelboym*, Rachel	48
Argaman, Avraham	i
Atsmon*, Dora (née Leviten)	48
Avidar*, Chasida	41
Avidar, Eldad	41
Avidar, Orit	41
Ayzenshteyn*, Dora (née Yakobson)	48
Bakimer, Bunim	6, 8 (photo)
Bakimer, David	6, 8 (photo)
Barlas	36
Barshap, Leya	41
Bar-Tana*, Tsipora (née Litvak)	48
Basis family	31
Basis, Borya	30 (photo), 30-31
Bat, Avraham	7
Bat*, Bilhah (née Shnayder)	8 (photo)
Bat, Chaya	6, 8 (photo)
Bat, David	6
Bat*, Manya	8 (photo)
Bat, Nachum	6
Bat, Shmuel	6, 7
Beaupré, Jan	15 (photo)
Bedolach, Arye	48
Ben-Efraim, Tsvi (see also Rubinshteyn, Tsvi)	48
Ben-Tsur*, Orit (née Avidar)	41
Ben-Tsur, Ranan	41
Berger, Atara	43
Berger, Dvora	7, 8 (photo)
Berger, Simcha	48
Berkovits, Amos	48
Berman*, Pnina	41
Berman, Roni	41
Berman*, Rut	41
Berman, Yakov	41
Bernshteyn, Aleksander (see also Shalom, Aleksander)	48
Bernshteyn, Riva	36
Bezpoysnik, Itsik	43
Biberman, Noa	41
Biberman, Yitschak	41
Bleykeyvits, Ema	17
Bodeker, Avraham	41
Bodeker*, Ira	41
Bodeker*, Rina	41
Bodeker, Yakov	41
Bokun, Avrasha	42
Bokun, Roytel	42
Bokun, Shoshana	42
Bril*, Manya (née Shnayder)	7, 8 (photo), 25
Brotski, Shaul	14, 15 (photo)
Charash, Yitschak	48
Chernotska*, Alina	14, 15 (photo), 16
Chernotski, Stefan	14
Czacki, Tadeusz	16
Desser, Max	i
Dets, Maria	17
Direktor-Ford, Sheyndel	48
Dugim, Avraham	48
Duvdevani, Shmuel	29
Duvdevani, Yechiel	29
Epshteyn, Bela	41
Epshteyn*, Tova	41
Epshteyn, Yakov	41
Feldman, Dvora	7
Feldman-Toren, Dvora	8 (photo)
Fingerut, Shlome	14
Fridel, Avraham	7, 8 (photo)
Fridel, Naomi-Zisel	6, 8 (photo)
Gershteyn, Moshe	14, 15 (photo)
Gintsburg, Aharon	48
Gintsburg, Oren	43
Gintsburg, Yitschak	43
Gintsburg, Yosef	7, 8 (photo)
Gluzman*, Chaya (née Bat)	6, 8 (photo)
Gluzman, Eliezer	6
Golberg, Betsalel	42
Golberg, Chana	42
Golberg*, Dorit	42
Golberg*, Irena	42
Golberg*, Mira	42
Golberg, Ranit	42
Golberg, Yakov	42
Golberg, Yehoshue	i, 14, 16, 42, 48
Golcher*, Ela	48
Golcher, Meir	48
Goldenberg, Manus	i, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36
Goldring, Meir	14, 15 (photo)
Goltsberg, Yitschak (Kitsi)	41
Gorenfeld, Andzya	48
Gurman, Chana	7, 8 (photo)
Hamburski (husband of Mara Krayzelman)	43
Hamburski, Brurya	43
Hamburski*, Mara (née Krayzelman)	43
Horovits, David	42
Horovits, Nur	42
Horovits*, Roytel (née Bokun)	42
Kagan, Moshe	35
Kagan, Netanel	48
Kantor*, Bat-Sheva (née Leviten)	7, 8 (photo)
Kaplan, Sam	16
Kaplan*, Tova (née Teper)	16
Karmeli*, Bela (née Epshteyn)	41
Karmeli, Shoshana	41
Karmeli, Yakov	41
Katz family	28
Katz, Marcos	i
Katz, Mrs.	48
Kindzior, Gdalyahu	41
Kindzior, Sharona	41
Kindzior*, Shulya	41
Kligman*, Rachel	41
Kligman, Adi	41
Kligman, Zev	41
Kogan, William	i
Kotler, Arye	36
Koyler, Pesach	48
Kozovski, Boris	15 (photo)
Krayzelman, Mara	43
Kremenetski, Ariel	14, 15 (photo)
Krementshugski, Dov	31
Krementshugski, Moshe	32
Krementshugski, Niunye	31-32
Krementshugski, Shelye
Krementshugski, Sima	32
Kreyveski	15 (photo)
Landsberg, Binyamin, Dr.	14, 15 (photo)
Landsberg*, Ema (née Bleykeyvits)	17
Landsberg, Vovke	17
Lerner* (wife of Pesach Lerner)	7
Lerner, Pesach	7
Levinzon, Yitschak Ber, R' (RYB"L)	31, 35
Leviten, Bat-Sheva	7, 8 (photo)
Leviten*, Batya	41, 42
Leviten, Dani	41, 42
Leviten, Dora	48
Leviten, Edi	41, 42
Leviten, Moshe	41, 42
Leviten*, Telma	7, 8 (photo)
Lis, Yechiel	15 (photo)
Litev*, Chasya	8 (photo), 36, 48
Litev, Pesach (see also Litvak, Pesach)	6, 8 (photo), 36, 48
Litner, Beni	8 (photo)
Litner, Hila	41
Litner, Or	41
Litner*, Sharona (née Kindzior)	41
Litvak, Binyamin	6
Litvak, Pesach (see also Litev, Pesach)	6, 8 (photo), 36, 48
Litvak, Sara	6
Litvak, Tsipora	8 (photo)
Litvak-Vender, Ronya	8 (photo)
Mahler, Professor	36
Mandelblat*, Bela	41
Mandelblat, Munya	41
Mandelblat, Pesach	41
Mandelblat*, Vela	41
Mandelblat, Yael	41
Margolit, Yosef	48
Miler, Berta	43
Mordish, Avraham	41
Mordish*, Mashka	41
Mordish*, Shosh	41
Mordish, Yakov	41
Ot-Yakar, Mordekhay	i
Otiker, Yisrael	3
Pert, Mr.	30
Pikhovits, Yurek	48
Piłsudski, Marshal	14
Pishot-Grinberg, Tsivya	48
Portnoy, Yitschak	48
Rabinovits family	28
Rabinovits, Misha	28
Rabinovits*, Sonya (née Vinshel)	29, 30
Rabinovits, Yisrael (Izya), Dr.	28-30, 29 (photo)
Rapoport, David	i
Rokhel, Vitya	8
Rokhel, Yitschak	36, 41, 49
Rotman*, Berta (née Miler)	43
Rozenberg, Gal	41
Rozenberg, Kalman	41
Rozenberg, Yonatan	41
Rozenberg*, Zahava	41
Rubinshteyn, Tsvi (see also Ben-Efraim, Tsvi)	48
Sela, Aharon	48
Shafir, Boris (Borye)	14, 15, 15 (photo)
Shafir*, Chanulya	36
Shafir, Yakov	36
Shalom, Aleksander (see also Bernshteyn, Aleksander)	48
Sherer*, Matil	43
Sherer, Mendil	43
Sherer, Tsadok the ritual slaughterer	43
Sherir, Ido	41
Sherir*, Noa (née Biberman)	41
Sherir, Yair	41
Shmueli, Ami	41
Shmueli, Eilat	41
Shmueli*, Rachel	41
Shnayder*, Tsila	26, 36
Shnayder, Bilhah	8 (photo)
Shnayder, Dan	26
Shnayder, Dvora	36
Shnayder, Manya	7, 8 (photo), 25
Shnayder, Moshe (Misha)	7, 8 (photo), 25 (photo), 25-27, 48
Shnayder, Nesya	25
Shnayder, Reya	25
Shnayder, Rut	26
Shnayder, Tsvi	6, 26, 48
Shnayder, Yakov	6, 26
Shnayder, Zev (Vulf)	8 (photo)
Shnayder-Terom, Chava	8 (photo)
Shrentsel, Avraham	48
Shtern, Nuta	3
Shtern*, Yehudit (Itka)	3
Sitsuk*, Atara (née Berger)	43
Sitsuk, Moshe	43
Skolski, Shlome	i
Slovatski, Yuliush	14, 16
Sorochinska, Alina	16, 17
Spektor, Binem	6, 8 (photo), 48
Spektor*, Naomi-Zisel (née Fridel)	6, 8 (photo)
Tamar (fiancée of Feliks Vilderman)	41
Taytelman, Shmuel	i
Teper, Fishel	48
Teper, Tova	16, 17
Teper-Berkovits, Chanokh (see also Berkovits-Teper)	27-28
Teper-Berkovits, Talya (see also Berkovits-Teper)	27 (photo), 27-28, 48
Teresova, Aleksandra	16, 17
Tsizin family	6
Tsuref, Bela	7
Tsvivel, Barukh Yechezkel	42
Tsvivel, David	42
Tsvivel*, Margalit (née Vakman)	42
Vakman*, Genya	36, 42
Vakman, Margalit	42
Vakman, Yitschak	36, 42
Vali (fiancé of Adi Kligman)	41
Vilderman, Feliks	41
Vilderman*, Leya (née Barshap)	41
Vinshel, Sonya	29, 30
Vishniov, Hertsel	33-34
Vishniov*, Shifra	33
Vishniov, Yair	33 (photo), 33-34
Vishniov, Zusye	34
Yakobson, Dora	48
Yashpe, Amnon	41
Yashpe, Arye	41
Yashpe, Chagi	41
Zeyger*, Chaya	41
Zeyger, Giora	41
Zeyger, Keren	41
Zeyger, Meir	41
Zeyger*, Riva	43
Zilberberg, Dorit (née Golberg)	42
Zilberberg, Erez	42
Zilberberg, Ruven	42

Again we are your guests, and we believe we are welcome guests in your homes, our beloved fellow townspeople. This time, we have in our bag memories from the distant past that will bring pleasant thoughts to each of you, along with the great pain we carry deep in our hearts.

We report all of our organization's accomplishments: the past year's events in all spheres of activity to memorialize our martyrs and maintain contact with our fellow townspeople wherever they are with through the booklets and letters.

In addition, we organized a number of gatherings for members who visited the Land. On those occasions and others, Kremenetsers' special nature, in the past and present, was evident. In fact – and we are not talking about patriotism – the last memorial service, which many of you took part in, evoked respectful memories in all of us.

This is the opposite of what is happening in other organizations, which have had to cancel memorial services in large halls for lack of participation.

In preparing this booklet, we were encouraged by the number of members who were willing to pay all of their financial obligations. This marks the first time we have not had to make financial demands on them. We hope that the situation will continu. Additional encouragement came from letters from many members and a few people in Israel and abroad who receive out booklet. Some mentioned our organization's great accomplishments, and some expressed their true feelings, as they have done in the past, in words that touched our hearts.

Some material in our booklet is written in Hebrew, and some in Yiddish.

We want to remind our members that this year the memorial service will take place on August 15 and not August 14, since it falls on the Sabbath.

See you at the memorial! – Editorial Board

[Page 2]

Dear Landsmen,

We come again as guests, hopefully invited, to each of your homes. We bring you news about everything happening in our organization and with our landsmen–news that is happy and, unfortunately, not so happy.

During the past year, we have organized several receptions for Kremenets guests from abroad, which were conducted in a warm and dignified manner. They were noted for the special way Kremenetsers identify themselves. That this is not simply a chauvinistic claim is demonstrated by several facts, among which is the number of members who attend the yearly memorial service. We can also point to the broad support we have recently received from members for Kol Yotsei Kremenets, no. 12. We hope to get a similar reaction to this issue, no. 13, the bar mitzvah booklet.

The warm reaction of our readers, Kremenetsers and non-Kremenetsers, has encouraged us. We feel this in their moving letters, which are full of nostalgia and gratitude.

This time, the material is again published in Hebrew and Yiddish together. We hope that the effort of looking at these pages will be worthwhile for every reader.

Finally, we would especially like to remind members of the date for this year's memorial: Sunday, August 15, instead of the 14^th, which falls on the Sabbath.

See you at the memorial.

The Editors

[Page 3]

17 Tishrei 5737 marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Nuta Shtern, of blessed memory. I am not wrong to say that before death subdued him, before he was lost to his family and our organization, he was an exceptional individual. Possibly none of us has been blessed with the same healthy, forgiving sense of humor with which Nuta was blessed. None of us was connected as he was, with all his heartstrings, to the people of Kremenets, and none of us was so able to recognize their problems. In addition to being so familiar with them, he also searched for any solution that would help them.

In his workplace, first the Small Merchants Association and later the Benevolent Fund, he maintained personal relationships with people and absorbed their rich sense of humor, laughing at themselves and their troubles. They loved him, and he loved them.

Nuta's wife, Yehudit (Itka), was the secretary of the Kremenitser Shtime editorial board. She remembers well the editorial board meetings at their home in which Yisrael Otiker, Nuta, and I participated. Each time, Nuta brought new short sketches of his clients' lives that brought about thunderous laughter. Those short sketches evidenced a great deal of the folklore and resourcefulness found among simple, innocent Jews in their struggle against poverty and the Polish tax authorities, which controlled their lives.

A few of those short sketches were published in the Kremenitser Shtime and Kremenitser Lebn newspapers, and a few have survived.

In time, we will publish them, and they will be the Voice of Kremenets Emigrants editorial board's contribution in memory of our beloved Nuta and those sweet, innocent Jews.

[Page 4]

Community Democratic Weekly
Published every Friday
Kremenets, Friday, 22 Tevet, 1933

How the Charity Fund Began to Deal in Prayer Shawls
Nuta Shtern, of Blessed Memory

(A snapshot of the “charity fund” published in Kremenitser Shtime [Kremenets Voice] in 1933. In memory of co-editor Nuta Shtern on the 10^th anniversary of his death.)

I have known Berel since the Charity Fund began. He was one of the first to take funds because–it should not happen to us–he was one of the first in need. He had, I know, many children, may they avoid the evil eye. I don't know how many there were. All I know is that if he were to take them all into his “vault,” they wouldn't all fit….

He dealt in High Holiday prayerbooks, Sabbath and daily prayerbooks, ritual fringes, mezuzahs, blessing booklets, and prayer shawls … that is, anything people might want, although he didn't actually have it in stock ….

According to the tax inspector's account, everything was worth about 30 zlotys, although Berel disputed that … (as if a non-Jew knew better the value of ritual fringes and blessing booklets).

Every time I met with him, Berel complained, “Oy, it's bitter. So bitter. Everything is getting worse…. I don't know what will happen ….” Then he added, “Ach, where do five such bad years come from, three such years?”

I look at Berel and I think, “What has he lived on for five years?–What could be worse?”

[Page 5]

In his stock one can find, as I said, a High Holiday prayerbook, a blessing booklet, a prayerbook, a mezuzah … but if you want a prayer shawl, you have to order it, and in about a week you'll get it. At the Charity Fund, every year he takes a sum and pays it back, until the next year starts.

This time, which I will tell about, Berel proceeded differently: A merchant from Warsaw came to him with a proposition: if he would take 10 prayer shawls at a time, they would only cost him half the usual price….

Berel didn't think about it for long (or perhaps he did–who knows?) and told him to send them. Behold, the day arrived–the package of merchandise came in the mail, and of course with a bill for 80 zlotys. So what did Berel do? He didn't think about it for long (or perhaps he did–who knows?), but he went to the Charity Fund and said the following:

“Gentlemen, I am not here to borrow money, first because I still owe you, and second because I have no guarantor, but I would like you to buy the package in the post for me.”

Then Berel showed them his plan, for which he gave a deposit of 15 zlotys.

“The package should stay with you. If someone wants to buy a prayer shawl, I'll come to the Charity Fund, I'll come here to buy it, and the money will pay off the debt–agreed?”

The board thought about it for a long time and then agreed to the deal.

Then Berel began to conduct his prayer shawl sales at the charity office, and in a short time he paid his debt and took the rest of the package home, smiling to himself….

Who knows, perhaps by that time Berel had come up with another scheme? …

[Page 6]

This year, Afula is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The organizers of the festivities marked the stages of its development and listed its founders. Kremenets Jews played a significant role in establishing and developing the town.

Along with the first residents, who arrived from Poland, Lithuania, and Russia, seven middle-class Zionist families also arrived from our town to settle in the new place that in time became the town in the Jezreel Valley.

Those families purchased their plots of land from American Zion Commonwealth agents, who came to Kremenets with plans for new settlements in the Land. Zionist Jews liquidated their businesses, sold their properties, and immigrated to Land of Israel with their wives and children.

In May and June 1925, seven families arrived in Afula from Kremenets. They were joined by immigrants from Vishnevets^[1] and other towns in the surrounding area. The first immigrants were the families of Nachum Bat, Duvid Bat, Shmuel Bat, Binyamin Litvak, Tsvi Shnayder, Binem Spektor and his wife (Naomi-Zisel Fridel), the Bakimer brothers; they were joined by Eliezer Gluzman and his wife, Chaya, Bat of Vishnits, and the Tsizin family. All the families listed above kept in close contact during their years in Afula.

Initially, they all experienced difficult times, but they accepted them with love, tolerance, hope, and confidence that they would be able to cope, and so it was. The children of Kremenetsers were the first core group at the local school, and the founders were the first worshipers in the synagogue built in those days.

Tsvi Shnayder, of blessed memory, contributed a great deal to the farmers' organization in Afula, and Sara Litvak, the family's grandmother, is remembered well for establishing the local Benevolent Fund with her own contributions and with donations from the settlers. She also established and supervised the local organization that housed guests in the synagogue yard, as there was no hotel in those days.

[Page 7]

Except for one family, none of the first Kremenetser settlers left Afula, in spite of the difficult conditions during its early years. Most of the founders' children also stayed and still live there today. In Afula, at the time of the Jubilee, you could count seven or eight families from Kremenets.

It is fitting to relate an episode from Afula's early days. On Passover eve 1926, all the Kremenets emigrants who had arrived in the Land in 1925 decided to celebrate the Passover seder and the first days of the holiday together.

On Passover eve of that year, in the afternoon, around 25 Kremenetsers arrived in Afula. Among them were Chana Gurman, of blessed memory; Dvora Berger; Dvora Feldman; Bat-Sheva Leviten; Yosef Gintsburg; Misha Shnayder and his sister, Manya; Avraham Fridel; and others. Joining them were friends from Shumsk – Pesach Lerner and his wife, and Bela Tsuref. It was a cheerful group of people. Each Kremenetser family in Afula wanted to host a few group members at their seder.

However, we faced a total refusal from the guests: “We came to observe the seder together, not as single guests in the separate homes of Kremenets emigrants.”

All the guests had brought beverages, wine, and greens for the seder. Afula's residents had no choice but to walk from home to home collecting the necessities for a Passover eve feast – in accordance with the law and custom!

Tables covered with tablecloths were arranged outdoors, portable kerosene lamps were lit, and the women brought their contributions for the group meal. Shmuel Bat, son of Avraham, was chosen “king of the feast” and “minister of drinks.” Under his orchestration, we read the Haggadah, and we drank and ate according to law and custom, with great gaiety and dancing. And so this Passover seder, which lasted until the wee hours of the night, will never be forgotten.

[Page 8]

The next day, all the guests traveled to Kibbutz Ein Harod and from there to Kibbutz Tel Yosef to visit Vitya Rokhel, of blessed memory. After their meals in the kibbutzim, all the travelers returned to Afula on foot.

To mark the event, all the Kremenetsers in Afula assembled at the local photographer's, and the occasion was commemorated with a group photo taken in 1926 on Passover in Afula, at the beginning of her journey.

First row, standing: The first is Manya Bat; the fourth is Moshe Shnayder, of blessed memory; David Bakimer; Fridel; Spektor; Bunim Bakimer; Z. Fridel (Spektor). Second row: The first is Bat and his wife, Bilhah Shnayder; Pesach Litev's grandmother, of blessed memory; Chasya, of blessed memory, P. Litev's mother. Third row: The first is Dvora Berger, the second is Ronya Litvak-Vender, the third is Bat-Gluzman, the fourth is Chana Gurman, the fifth is Dvora Feldman-Toren, and the seventh [sic] is Yosef Ginzburg. Fourth row (seated): The first is Manya Shnayder-Bril, the second is Tsipora Litvak, the fourth [sic] is Levitin-Kantor Bat-Sheva. Fifth row: Chava Shnayder-Terom (with the guitar), and last is Yakov Shnayder.

[Page 9]

On March 23, 1944, when the mass of Red Army soldiers descended like lava from the hills around Kremenets after a bitter battle with the retreating Germans, they found only 15 surviving Jews in the destroyed city. A short time later, a hairy, disheveled, disoriented man appeared at the command center. This was Mikhel Bankir. His story and his picture, as he looked then, were soon published in several Russian newspapers under the caption “The Kremenets Robinson Crusoe.”

In our yizkor book, Pinkas Kremenets^[1], which appeared in 1954, on page 263, we included a short piece provided by Tove Teper. But that does not suffice. Two years ago I had the opportunity to meet Bankir. He had come to visit Israel with his wife to see his brothers at Kibbutz Gevat. Before me sat a small man of modest appearance looking nothing like the hero of the story “The Kremenets Robinson Crusoe,” as he had been called.

In a conversation that lasted several hours, he recounted his experiences during his two years on Mountain of the Virgins.

The force of his talk, full of terrible tensions, without any chronology, made it difficult to capture in writing.

Afterward, I heard the story again from Betsalel Shvarts, who had met Bankir in Belaya Krinitsa several days before he fled and a short time after his rescue.

[Page 10]

Before the war, Mikhel Bankir had a dry-goods store in Dubno. Along with all the Jews, he, his wife, and his child were confined to the ghetto. There, like many others, he exerted much effort in digging an underground bunker. There he hid their gold and jewelry.

Every day Bankir would go with other Jews to work outside the ghetto and return at night. On the day when the Jews had been taken from the ghetto to their graves, he was working in Belaya Krinitsa. From Shvarts, who had managed to escape, he heard what had happened.

Through back roads, in the dark of night, Mikhel arrived at the ghetto. No living soul could be seen in the narrow, smelly streets. Even the Ukrainian guards had left. Only the banging of the half-open doors occasionally disturbed the dead silence. With a pounding heart, Mikhel took a look at his bunker. It was empty … the gold coins and jewelry were in the hiding place, untouched.

As it turned out, there were then several hundred Jews in their bunkers. They would emerge at night for a breath of air and search for hidden provisions in the abandoned bunkers. In one such nightly expedition, Mikhel met Berenshteyn's daughter and a woman he knew, whose name he cannot remember.

Some of the hidden men, women, and children who could no longer bear the suffocating, horrible hunger in the bunkers surrendered to the Germans. They were forced to go around yelling: “Jews, come out. We have been rescued.”

A couple of hundred ailing Jews, faint and hungry, went out in the daylight, indifferent to what awaited them.

[Page 11]

They were quickly surrounded by the SS and Ukrainian police. They were all taken to the prison at the gatehouse and shot.

Among those brought to the prison was Bankir. With the help of a few fivers, he bribed the Ukrainian guards so that they looked away when he jumped over the high fence. He was accompanied by a young woman. He did not know who she was. (It turns out she was Tove Teper, who thus escaped and brought us the sad report about the destruction of Kremenets, Pinkas Kremenets, pp. 251-264.)

As he ran from the prison, Bankir went toward Mountain of the Virgins. Not far from the mountain, in a piece of bad luck, he ran into the armed Ukrainian “policeman” Kolya, with whom several young Kremenetsers had studied and played football. But in the ghetto, this Kolya had tormented the Jews. He ordered Bankir to go back to the prison with him. Bankir started walking. Suddenly he stooped as though to tie his shoe. Being under Kolya, Bankir jumped up like a wild animal, and, grabbing the edges of Kolya's jacket, pulled it over Kolya's head. Before Kolya could untangle himself, Bankir hid in the mountain's cliffs. Until night fell, he was afraid to move from the spot. When day broke, he found a deep crevice in the cliff. He decoded to hide there.

A couple of days later, he saw the ghetto go up in flames.

[Page 12]

Only in the dark of night did he dare leave his hiding place. In nearby gardens he found potatoes and other vegetables. Like an ant, he began to prepare for winter. Carefully, and only late at night, in the cold autumn rain, he would go to a gentile whom he knew to beg for a bit of bread, or sometimes sulfur or kerosene. In time, he managed to dig a hole through the cliff–for the smoke that could exit the cave through the high cliffs, his true guardians. All day he would burn small twigs, preparing fuel for the winter. With that, he warmed himself and cooked the vegetables he collected.

His situation was comfortable when the first snow fell. Then he could not leave the cave even at night in case he left footprints. But the nightly snowfalls allowed him to go farther to the windows of this or that gentile. They really took pity on him and generously shared what they had. The snowfalls served him well by covering his footsteps. Using the deep snow, Mikhel disguised the entrance to his cave. Thus he was more secure and even warmer. He passed the long winter days by praying and saying psalms. He had a pair of phylacteries and a prayerbook with him. He talked to himself a lot. His only companions were the mice that scampered around him.

Winter passed, as did spring. Summer arrived again. Like an old hand, Mikhel prepared for a second winter. He got through that, too, thanks to his strength, his will to live, and his knowledge. At the beginning of spring 1944, as the snow began to disappear, he heard shooting and noisy movement in the city and on the roads.

[Page 13]

But he was afraid to go out for fear of leaving traces in the mud.

One night, when frost covered the ground, he decided to go to one of the gentiles. The gentile said in a loud voice, “Mikhel, what are you doing? The Soviets are here!” Mikhel was afraid that the gentile was about to turn him over to the Germans. He ran quickly back to his cave. Only later did he carefully leave his home and go to the city, where he learned what had happened.

He looked like a prehistoric caveman. He spoke wildly. Before people took care of him, they photographed him. As I said earlier, his story and picture were a sensation in the Russian papers.

At that time, the Russians began to mobilize the residents of the freed territories into the army. Betsalel Shvarts was there in Rovno. He heard that there were a few Jews left in Kremenets. His officer, a colonel, gave him a truck, which he drove to Kremenets. From those who remained, he learned that Dudik Beloguz, his partner Galtsman, and Bankir had been mobilized. Shvarts had the power to arrange military duties in his area. Knowing that those who were mobilized were sent to the base in Dubno, he went there. At the base, he found only Bankir. The other two had been sent to the front, where they were killed. With the help of an order from his colonel, the person Shvarts had found to be suitable was to be brought to work in defense of the Fatherland. So Bankir was brought from the base to Rovno. There Bankir was settled and met his wife, with whom he now lives in America.

Translation editor's note:

1. Pinkas Kremenets (ed. A. Stein, Tel Aviv: 1954) is a memorial book of Kremenets. See http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/kremenets/kremenets.html.] Return

[Page 14]

During my wife's and my visit to London in August 1975, I called Mrs. Alina Chernotska, the director and coordinator of the Kremenets exiles' club called Biesiade Keshmienietske. The club was established in Paris 120 years ago, when the famous poet Yuliush Slovatski, a native of Kremenets, and other Polish intellectuals of his time founded the Polish monthly magazine of the same name.

The meeting was arranged for 8:00 p.m. My wife and I traveled to her home, around 70 kilometers from central London, in the pouring rain. A slim, white-haired woman welcomed us to a room with a small kitchen. Both were full of books in Polish and English about Poland before the war and during the Nazi occupation, as well as postwar Polish literature in English and French. Hanging on the wall were pictures of her husband, Stefan Chernotski, who served as starosta^[2] of Kremenets, and of Marshal Piłsudski during his visit to Kremenets. She welcomed us warmly, and conversation flowed about the high school, the Jewish students who studied there, and the teachers who taught there. She told us that from 1933 until the war broke out in 1939, she had been a member of the Kremenets City Council and directed the cultural and social departments. Through her job, she maintained a close relationship with the members of the Jewish council: Dr. Bozi Landsberg, Goldring and Gershteyn, Boris Shafir, Brotski, Kremenitski, Shlome Fingerut, and others.

She was always aware of the problems that existed in various Jewish institutions, such as the Jewish orphanage, the Jewish hospital, the Talmud Torah, and the home for the aged (Bogadlina). She also mentioned Kremenitski's wife, who dedicated almost her entire life to the Jewish orphanage in our town.

While we were talking, she took out a picture that was very dear to her. The picture remained with her at the concentration camp and during the Polish uprising in Warsaw. For her, the picture is a historical document from the last meeting of the City Council, which took place on September 5, 1939, just a few days before the Russians entered Kremenets. I asked her for a copy, and she promised to send it to me. A few months later, I received the picture, which is published in this booklet.

[Page 15]

First row, middle: Mayor Beaupré. To his right, behind the woman, Kreyveski (holding a hat). Behind him, Meir Goldring, Dr. Binyamin Landsberg, the engineer Yechiel Lis, and behind him Ariel Kremenetski and Borye Shafir. On the mayor's left: Boris Kozovski (in a white suit), to his right, Shaul Brotski, and to his right, Moshe Gershteyn. On the mayor's left: Mrs. Alina Chernotska

[Page 16]

We took the last underground train back to London, full of excitement and elated about Kremenets and an old – 76-year old – slim, short woman who was full of energy and the will to write, search for, and collect material on Kremenets, Yuliush Slovatski, Tadeusz Czacki, and other intellectuals active in Kremenets during that time.

Mrs. Chernotska's worry is this: who will inherit her beloved collection after her death? The members of the younger generation, who live in England 35 years after the war, have their own worries and have no enthusiasm for these matters.

On February 2, 1976, we were honored to host a reception in our cultural hall for our fellow townswoman, Tova Teper; her husband, Sam; and family members who had come to the Land to celebrate their son's bar mitzvah by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

On that festive evening, she told us about the suffering and horrors she experienced during the Holocaust when she was interned in the Kremenets prison, her escape from prison, and her escape from the Kremenets ghetto to the Dubno ghetto. She told us how two Christian women from our town took her out of the Dubno^[3] ghetto, dressed her in traditional Ukrainian clothing, and over two nights transferred her on back roads from Dubno to Alina Sorochinska's home in Kremenets. After she rested for a few days at Sorochinska's home, she was transferred to Aleksandra Teresova's home, where six or seven Jews were already hiding, and she held on there until the end of the war.

[Page 17]

Tova Teper told us that this daring operation – saving eight Jews from the Nazis' claws, worrying about feeding them, worrying about their safety and well-being, worrying about medicine, smuggling them out of the ghettos, and guarding them at night so they could breathe a little fresh air – took almost two years and was accomplished by four Christian women: first and foremost, Aleksandra Teresova, as well as Ema Bleykeyvits – Vovke Landsberg's wife – Maria Dets, and Alina Sorochinska. These women risked their own lives and those of their family members to save the lives of eight Jews from our town. After hearing Tova's story, I wrote a letter to Mrs. Dets in Poland, and here is her answer.

Translated from Polish:

“Dear and respected fellow townspeople”!

I thank you greatly for your letter that I received. I was astounded and very happy, I was ecstatic, and I cried until I finished reading it. I'm very glad that after so many years, our tremendous labor, and the great risk involved was not for nothing and that an expression of appreciation on your part came to us. After the liberation, Alina Sorochinska was drafted into the Red Army as a nurse and was killed on the battlefront. Her only daughter lives in Warsaw with Sorochinska's brother. I wish all of my townspeople lots of luck, all the best, and good health.

Yours, Maria Dets

This is the contents of the letter.

I want to add that we as Kremenetsers bow our heads before these four wonderful women. We are willing to help the three remaining women, who are among the righteous of the world, in any way possible.

[Page 19]

“What, Rapaport is 70 years old already?!!” So cried out our board members in amazement.

To establish that this was the absolute truth, I showed them a pile of Yiddish newspapers that I had assembled from America, Canada, South Africa, and Israel.

[Page 20]

In each of them, one could read greetings for this birthday, articles about his literary and community activities from the last decade of his life in America.

And if this is so, if this is “a secret known by everyone,” we are not insignificant in-laws. Dear Duvid, we extend our heartiest good wishes from all the Kremenetsers in Israel. We all know what you have done for our landsmanshaft and what you constantly do in word and deed. We know how close you are to us in our efforts to memorialize the memory of Kremenets martyrs with dignity.

We know you as a firm Israeli patriot. Your visits to Israel are warmly described in your publications and poems.

Welcome to you, Duvid, on your fourth visit to Israel!

We offer one of the poems that Rapaport wrote after his last visit to Israel, which was published in periodicals in Israel and abroad.

At sunrise the birds emerge. At sunrise the kibbutz awakens. Everyone is going off to work Like pious Jews to morning prayers for God's support. Carpets of green grass kiss the trails, Red flowers that smell of rest– Children of the gods–half extinguished embers There have found their longed-for hour. Now they themselves are moms and dads, With kindergarten children lulled to sleep. Their hearts are free of yellow patches, Heroic Israeli fighters for free Jews.

[Page 21]

1. Kremenets, my town Oh how I long for you … You are fallen like a gnome And I am distraught … 2. I long for your children For their cherry eyes, For my own childhood That flew away. 3. I long for your crooked streets Near the high hills, For Jewish merchants with herring kegs In the old market. 4. I long for Chaye-Rikel, woman of valor And Eli Borodatiya Who cried in the old market: “Czuyeti sho mayeti pradalya.” 5. I long for your gray days, For your holidays, For Jews with needles, shears, and saws, For their deep faith. 6. My shtetl is no more! –God, where is your compassion? There is no one to say Kaddish For 14,000 victims. 7. How do you exist now, my town, As I lament for you You are fallen like a gnome, And I am distraught …

[Page 22]

With B[ernard] Isaacs' departure for the world of eternity, the RYB”L Library has lost one of its most devoted friends. There have been many appreciations for the American Hebrew writer and pioneer in education. May I be allowed to remark in several lines about B. Isaacs, friend of the RYB”L Library.

Twenty years ago, after the memorial service in Tel Aviv for our Kremenets martyrs, when I proposed creating a library in RYB”L's name to memorialize our city, the plan was worked out at a meeting of our comrades Roykhel, Litvak, and Goldenberg. I also donated a sum as the beginning of a foundation for the library.

After returning to Detroit, I organized a committee to collect books for the RYB”L Library. At my invitation, we called together a number of rabbis/educators, among whom was the famous educator and writer B. Isaacs.

He agreed to chair the committee and assume much of its work. In addition to contributing our own books, we spent weeks collecting those of others. Eventually we collected several hundred books in B. Isaacs' cellar to send to Israel. We chose certain dates to meet and do the work. Once I came at the appointed time and found Isaacs all alone at work, with several packages ready to go. “How is it, Mr. Isaacs, that you began without waiting for me? I'm a Kremenetser and you are a Litvak from Pilveshok. Isn't my responsibility greater?”

[Page 24]

Without thinking for long, Isaacs responded: “And how does it bother you that I have become involved with this work for the city of Kremenets and I have become a Kremenetser?”–B. Isaacs' interest in the library and its development lasted until his final days. From time to time he would inquire about the condition of the library, and he would tell me when he received a letter from his friend Yitschak Rokhel.

B. Isaacs will be missed in our ongoing work for the library. May his memory be blessed!

We should also remember here the name of an important educator, R' Meir Mats, may he rest in peace, a prominent member of the committee who did so much to expedite the book parcels in order to enrich the RYB”L Library at Tel Aviv University.

On Sunday, June 13, of this year, at the home of the Literary Society, Beit Tchernichovsky, there was a celebratory gathering dedicated to the longtime chair of the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants, Yitschak Rokhel, for his 80th birthday, and also to honor our important fellow citizen Volf Shnayder and his wife on their visit to Israel.

The gathering was organized by the board.

Relatives and close friends of the honorees were invited.

[Page 25]

In his opening speech, Mr. Manus noted the great accomplishments of the celebrant, that stalwart man, on the organization's behalf over 30 years of untiring activities. He demonstrated that the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants' many-faceted projects, with the goal of memorializing our city's martyrs, were largely the result of Mr. Rokhel's initiatives, organizational ability, and energy. To conclude, on behalf of all Kremenetsers, Manus wished the celebrant many more long years of fruitful activity in all aspects of our organization without exception.

Manus also greeted member Shnayder and his wife on their visit to Israel. He presented our guest's role in the stipend fund at Tel Aviv University and especially his vital part in the funding and development of the Levinzon Library there. Manus expressed the universal wish that Mr. Shnayder should maintain close contact and that we should be worthy of celebrating his special birthday together in Israel.

In his beautiful Yiddish, Mr. Shnayder expressed gratitude and himself greeted the celebrant and expressed satisfaction with the development of his beloved, the library. He promised further to contribute money and books. He also emphasized the importance of Kol Yotsei Kremenets to our organization's existence and activities. He asked that the Yiddish section of the booklets be expanded so that our members abroad, who do not understand Hebrew, should be able to enjoy it.

Later, after the official part of the evening, the members comfortably took part in private conversations.

In my youth, when I came across the slogan “a sound mind in a sound body,” the vision of Misha, with his great height and suntanned, smiling face, appeared before my eyes. I remember him in the golden autumn days, when we left for discus-throwing practice in the late afternoon at the foot of Mount Krestova.

For many hours, we inhaled the intoxicating smell of vegetable gardens and ripe fruit. We nourished our eyes with the golden leaves of the white poplar trees before they fell.

[Page 26]

We did not know then that on one of those autumn days 17 years later, the Nazis and their helpers would kill many of the finest Jewish intellectuals. They were the first victims of the Holocaust of our town.

Misha immigrated to the Land in 1925. His first stop was Afula, where he worked with his uncle, Tsvi Shnayder, of blessed memory. Later, he joined a kibbutz for Russian emigrants, now Afikim. He was sent by the kibbutz to work in Nehoraim and was in the first group of workers who built the Rotenberg power station.

In 1928, he left for Belgium, where he studied seamanship and mechanical engineering. In Brussels, he married Tsila, his girlfriend from the kibbutz. On his own initiative, he established a Jewish sports club, in which he was always active.

Misha and Tsila returned to Haifa when the war between Italy and Ethiopia broke out. He began working for the Israel Electric Company in Haifa, where many of his friends from the kibbutz were already working, and that's where his daughter Rut was born. During that time, he was active in the Haganah and in sports.

In 1942, he and 13 other Israeli officers were drafted into the British navy, and he served as a vice commander at the navy school in Alexandria. He was friendly with his British commanding officers, helped Israeli recruiters get accustomed to the sea, and was welcomed by local Jews. His son Dan was born in Alexandria.

At the end of the war, Moshe returned to the Land and his job at the Israel Electric Company. With the outbreak of the War of Independence, he was drafted into the Israeli navy and served there until the war ended. At the Foreign Ministry's request, he was granted a leave of absence from the Israel Electric Company and sent to Ethiopia, where he worked as a port engineer in Massawa. Through his work, he established excellent connections with the local workers. His home was a meeting place for Israelis who traveled to the area. At the Ethiopian transportation minister's request, Misha was nominated as a port and lakes management adviser and served in this capacity in the capital, Addis Ababa.

[Page 27]

Moshe returned to Israel with his family when relations with Ethiopia were severed. He Immediately started working to help Russian sailors acclimate. Using his knowledge of many foreign languages, he translated a large number of seamanship educational materials into Hebrew.

The terrible accident put an end to this active life.

We grieve for the loss, but we will not forget him!

All who knew Talya back in Kremenets knew how difficult her life was in her youth. Her mother died and left small children at home. The burden of caring for her family members fell on her during her teens, and in spite of the strenuous work at home, she continued diligently and regularly with her activities at the Zionist youth organization to which she belonged.

[Page 28]

When she arrived in Israel in 1927, Talya settled in Rishon Letsion.

With great effort, she and her husband established a home there. And there she immersed herself in many blessed activities for the Working Mothers Organization and the local Working Women's Council.

In a show of respect and appreciation, a large crowd of Rishon residents accompanied her to her everlasting resting place near her husband.

Talya left a son and a daughter, both married, and grandchildren.

Her modest home was left orphaned under its tiled roof. Her fruit orchard was left abandoned and orphaned. Each tree carried the marks of Talya's and Chanokh's hands, which cared for them with love and dedication.

Talya was 70 years old at the time of her death. May her memory be blessed!

When I received the sad news about Izya's sudden death, a wave of memories from the past flooded me. I saw myself in his company and the company of his brother, Misha, of blessed memory, and other boys our age in their large garden. The time is summer vacation.

Our yard was near their yard, and you could get there by climbing over a number of fences. We did that during the civil war, when a curfew was imposed on the town by those who had taken control for a few weeks. The streets stood deserted and dangerous. But in the yards of the various Katzes and Rabinovitses, in the shady garden behind the tall wooden fence, an active social life took place at all hours. We played croquet and chess on the ancient stone table, and some of us climbed the tall trees and immersed ourselves in books.

[Page 29]

I remember him that way also at school, during our joint trips to the mountains, and at various parties. It surprised us, his friends, that this excellent, quiet student, Izya, who seemed slow and awkward, was a talented and promising soccer player.

We went our separate ways when Izye left to study abroad and I was drafted into the Polish army. Due to different circumstances, we rarely saw each other, and both of us regretted it.

As I said, a short time after graduating high school, Izye left to study abroad, in Liège. There, he graduated from the university with honors and received a doctoral degree in mathematics and physics. During one of his summer vacation visits, while he was still a student, he married Sonya Vinshel, sister of Yechiel Duvdevani, who was a member of the First Knesset and the former director of Mekorot^[4], and Shmuel Duvdevani, the well-known researcher.

[Page 30]

Izye, of blessed memory, and Sonya, may she live a long time, immigrated to the Land with their young son in 1935.

Shortly after their arrival, Izye was accepted as an accountant in the Hasna Insurance Company. Later, he was transferred from the accounting department to the actuary department (as a mathematician), where he worked for 20 years.

When the central pension funds of the Federation were established, Rabinovits was loaned to the fund for one year. But he stayed there in as director of the pension department and as an actuary until 1973, when he retired.

Two years later, Izye returned to work at the request of the fund's director, Mr. Pert. He worked there until his last day.

On December 7, 1975, the day after his 71st birthday, Izye passed away after a heart attack. He left his wife, Sonya; two sons; and five grandchildren.

May his memory be blessed.

Borye was a founder of Kibbutz Shefayim and one of those who responded to each person's requests and carried the workload of the kibbutz.

[Page 31]

He worked in the kibbutz garage, drove a tractor, plowed and planted, and at times was called to fill different positions in the office and financial department as an extra clerk and treasurer.

While searching for material for a story about Kremenets that was published in Gazit, I came across an article sent to the Hamelits newspaper in Kremenets around 130 years ago. According to the article, Yitschak Ber Levinzon's call to Russian Jews to return to farming influenced a number of Jewish families to leave for the Cherson district in southern Ukraine, where they settled with the help of the czarist authorities. The article lists the names of the settlers who arrived from Kremenets. Among them, we find the Basis family. Without a doubt, Borye, a resident of Dubna, was a descendant of that Basis family. And so he continued his ancestors' tradition.

In the early 1930s, Borye worked in the Bernovich forest. From there, he immigrated to the Land and joined Shefayim. Borye was 68 at the time of his death. He left behind his wife, a married daughter and son, and grandchildren, all members of Shefayim.

May his memory be blessed!

Niunye Krementshugski died a few weeks ago in New York.

Niunye was the son of Dov Krementshugski, of blessed memory, one of the leaders of the Zionist Federation in Kremenets. He performed his public duties with endless dedication. Dov was one of those Diaspora men whose Zionism engulfed their whole being, and we owe them so much…

[Page 32]

After graduating high school in 1924, Niunye traveled to Cuba, settled there, and established a home. After Castro's revolution, he escaped penniless with his family to America and settled in New York. From there he visited the Land a number of times. He died in New York from a heart attack at the age of 72.

May his memory be blessed!

Niunye left a son and a daughter. His wife died a few years before him.

His brother and his two sisters live in Israel. His brother, Moshe, lives in Ramat Gan, his sister Shelya in Jerusalem, and his sister Sima in Kibbutz Ein Hashofet.

[Page 32]

It shows Shonye in his Polish army uniform while on active duty in the battle against the German enemy.

We are interested in having the picture reach his only daughter, who lives in America.

We hope Mr. Vakman will get the picture to her.

[Page 33]

Died: 25 Shevat 5736 (January 28, 1976)

Yair fell at the end of his basic military training. The terrible accident shocked his parents, Shifra and Hertsel, who are members of Kibbutz Sarid; his sisters; his relatives; and all the kibbutz members. His death also shocked friends and associates all over the country and those he met during athletic competitions, here and abroad, as a member of the youth volleyball team.

Yair was a tall young man, pleasant and modest, but under his modesty were great energy and ambition.

[Page 34]

His friends and teacher wrote the following about him in the kibbutz newsletter seven days after his death:

“…Yair, who hid his embarrassment with his smile, Yair the skinny, whose towering height contained a sensitive soul, good and modest… Yair the athlete, who stored great energy inside him, who seemed to disconnect himself from the ground with the power of his jump, quick and confident, Yair, whose calmness and unique qualities made him first among his friends…”

In the kibbutz cemetery, inside a thick pine forest, another grave was added, another gravestone joined to the straight lines of gravestones for Sarid's sons who have fallen in Israel's wars.

And this is what was said (in the same newsletter) about Yair, beloved son of his extensive family and the whole kibbutz:

“…if our love had power, if our dedication had power, you would walk among us again. Yair…. Here before you is your green and tranquil home, Sarid, which you loved so much – a place where mothers and fathers will continue to raise their children with dedication and love, the way your parents, Shifra and Hertsel, have done.”

Yair was the third link in the chain of soldiers in the Vishniov family. His grandfather, Zusye, of blessed memory, was a pious, athletic-looking man. He served in the czar's regular army for three years. He was drafted during World War I and sent to the front to fight the Austrians. At the end of the war, he returned home safely. Hertsel, Yair's father, served on behalf of the Haganah as a sergeant in the Guard Corps during the 5696-5698 riots. At the beginning of World War II, he was drafted, on behalf of the Haganah and the kibbutz, into the British army and took part in the war against Rommel's army in Africa and the ranks of the brigade against the Germans in Europe. During the War of Independence, he took part in the battles to free Jerusalem and on the northern battlefront. He also emerged unhurt from all the battles, but to the deep sorrow of everyone, Yair's fate was different….

Here is what Yair's regiment commander said in his memory:

“Yair was a dedicated, disciplined soldier, and in a short time he reached the highest personal level. As a friend, he helped his friends, assisted them, and was one of them; you could trust him in difficult situations. In his behavior, he served as a personal example to his friends and his commanding officers….”

His parents and his two sisters, who loved him so much, were left bereaved.

Yair's memory will always be in the hearts of his family members and friends.

[Page 35]

On Tuesday, April 6, 1976, our board members attended the opening of an exhibit by the artist Moshe Kagan, our fellow townsman, who lives in Kibbutz Shamir. The event took place at the well-known Rozenfeld Gallery. The exhibit was rich in beautiful paintings and was very successful. The numerous visitors were deeply impressed. We want to wish our artist, who showed us the beauty scenery of the Galilee, many years of fruitful creations.

This year, Holocaust Memorial Day at the Jerusalem elementary school in Bat Yam was dedicated to the community of Kremenets and its martyrs. Three hundred students, grades 7 and 8, assembled in the open hall, which was decorated in the theme of the event, and listened to Manus's stories about our town, life there in the past, and its tragic end… The program included Holocaust songs by the school choir. A plaster statue of Y. B. Levinzon, a donation from our member, the sculptor Y. Epshteyn, stood on the stage behind the speakers. The statue will remain at the school, and we hope that we will be able to pay tribute to our martyrs every year on Holocaust Memorial Day.

[Page 36]

On the first anniversary of the passing of Pesach Litev, of blessed memory, the Jewish Colonization Association conducted a memorial service in his memory in Beit Ha-ikar. The many participants heard about his dedication to the company and its decision to establish a scholarship fund in his name. Scholarships will be given annually to agricultural school students from development towns. Barlas, director of the Israel Office in Poland, talked about Litev's work in that office. Our member Manus gave a few details about Pesach's life in his youth and his many activities for our organization.

During Zev (Vulf) Shnayder and his wife's short visit to Israel in June of this year, he spoke in his hotel with Y. Rokhel and Manus about the library, the scholarship fund, and Voice of Kremenets Emigrants. Vulf and Rokhel visited the RYB”L Library at the university, where they met Professor Mahler and talked to him at length about our library.

During Yitschak and Genya Vakman's brief visit to the Land, which lasted only a few days (they came from New York to celebrate their grandson's bar mitzvah), they managed to meet privately with only a few fellow townspeople. Among them were Yakov and Chanulya Shafir. The gathering took place at the Shafirs' apartment and left a deep impression on those who attended. We hope we'll be able to see them again in the near future, and then we will arrange a warm reception for them.

It is worth mentioning that 30 years ago, our member Shafir held the founding meeting of the Kremenets organization in that same apartment. Participating in that meeting were members Riva Bernshteyn and Arye Kotler, of blessed memory, as well as Dvora Shnayder, Shafir, and Manus Goldenberg, may they live long.

[Page 37]

Tuesday, April 6, 1976. Our organization's board participated in the opening of an exhibition by our landsman, the artist Moshe Kagan, a member of Kibbutz Shamir. The exhibition took place at the well-known Rozenfeld Gallery. It was rich with beautiful and impressive artwork and deserved great success. Visitors expressed their delight at the exhibition.

We wish our artist, who always shows us the beauty of the Galilee panorama, long years of fruitful creativity.

Holocaust Day in the Yerushalayim Government School in Bat Yam was dedicated this year to the Kremenets community and its martyrs. In the open and beautifully decorated hall, 300 students from the higher grades assembled and listened with interest to Manus' talk about our city, its way of life in various aspects, and its tragic end. The school's choir took part in the program. On the stage stood the bust of Y. B. Levinzon in plaster of Paris, an offering by our sculptor Y. Epshteyn. The bust remains at the school. We hope to meet every year on Holocaust Day in memory of our martyrs.

[Page 38]

On the first anniversary of the death of Pesach Litev, of blessed memory, a memorial service was held in Beit Haikar dedicated to his memory, on behalf of his family and the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants. From the head of the organization, those gathered heard about Litev's blessed and dedicated work for the organization and also about his decision to create a stipend fund in his name.

Each year the stipends will be divided among several students from agricultural schools, children from development towns. Barlas, the current director of the Israel office in Poland, gave an interesting talk about Litev's important role in establishing and organizing the office. Our member Manus spoke about Pesach's youth in Kremenets and his rich, devoted, and important work in the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants.

During Volf Shnayder and his wife's short visit to Israel in June of this year, Mr. Rokhel and Manus met with him in his hotel room to discuss questions and matters concerning the library, the scholarship funds, and Kol Yotsei Kremenets. Mr. Shnayder had visited the library at Tel Aviv University with Rokhel. There they met with Professor Maler and had a long conversation about our library at the university.

One winter day this year, Manus and his wife Chane visited the old cemetery in Tel Aviv on Trumpeldor Street to go to the grave of their friend (our landsman) Eliezer Dobkirer, of blessed memory, who was buried there in 1926. His monument has been covered by rocks, and it is hard to find the grave.

Eliezer Dobkirer came to Israel in 1925 and was at Kibbutz Maver, the foundation of Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha.

[Page 39]

In 1926 he became ill with typhus and died at Hadassah Hospital in Tel Aviv. We must join with Givat Hashlosha in restoring our dear friend Eliezer's grave. In Pinkas Kremenets, page 223, there a mention of him and a picture. In a richly illustrated album published by Givat Hashlosha last year for the kibbutz's 50th anniversary, there is also something about Dubkirer, of blessed memory.

During our members Yitschak and Genye Vakman's quick visit to Israel (they came from New York for their grandson's bar mitzvah celebration), they met only with a few landsmen. They visited Yakov and Chanulye Shafir at home. This meeting became a profound experience for those present…. Our wish is to see them in the near future together with the Vakman family at a joyous reception.

We should remember that in summer 1946, 30 years ago, in Yakov Shafir's same house, the groundwork was laid for the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants, with the participation of Rive Bernshteyn and Leyb Kotler, may their memories be blessed–and Yakov Shafir, Dvore Shnayder, and Manus Goldenberg, long life to them.

A meeting with an important guest from Canada, Yosef Margolis, his wife and son. On Tuesday, July 13 of this year in our room in the College, there was a friendly meeting with our landsman Yosef Margolis, his wife, and his son. Present were members of the board, along with Mrs. Hofshteyn-Biberman and Hadasa Rubin and her husband.

[Page 40]

The evening proceeded in an especially warm and intimate atmosphere. With nostalgia, Yosef and his friends recalled memories of their childhoods in Kremenets.

From the pages of Kremenitser Shtime, published 44 years earlier in Kremenets, Manus read Hadasa Rubin's beautiful poem and his own feuilleton.

“I was 12 years old when I left Kremenets,” said Yosef, “but my old home will always be deep in my heart. Consequently, when I receive Kol Yotsei Kremenets, I am there again, and I carry the booklet around as if it were my child.”

Yosef, who generously supports a variety of national and religious educational causes, also supports the Yiddish weekly The New Yiddish Word, published in Winnipeg, and he also supports our journal.

This is the Margolises' second visit to Israel. With every visit, their ties to Israel become stronger.

We hope we will not have to wait long for their third visit. Until then, we will maintain contact through letters.

[Page 41]

On behalf of all our landsmen, here and abroad, the board of the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants congratulates our member, writer Hadasa Rubin, on receiving the literary prize given by the Union of Yiddish Writers and Journalists in Israel.

We wish her much fruitful creativity to come.

To Tova and Yakov Epshteyn on the birth of their granddaughter, Shoshana, born to their daughter, Bela, and her husband, Yakov Karmeli.

To Yitschak (Kitsi) Goltsberg on the birth of his great-granddaughter, Eilat, daughter of his granddaughter, Rachel, and her husband, Ami Shmueli. It is worth mentioning that Yitschak also has five great-grandsons! Well done!

To Leya Vilderman (Barshap) on the marriage of her son, Feliks, to his fiancée, Tamar.

To Avraham and Mashka Mordish, Yad Mordekhay, on the marriage of their son, Yakov, to his fiancée, Shosh.

To Rachel and Zev Kligman, Jerusalem, on the marriage of their daughter, Adi, to her fiancé, Vali.

To Gdalyahu and Shulya Kindzior, Haifa, on the birth of their grandchildren, Or and Hila, daughter and son of Sharona and Beni Litner.

To Meir and Chaya Zeyger, Haifa, on the birth of their granddaughter, Keren, daughter of Giora.

To Arye Yashpe, Haifa, on the birth of his grandson, Chagi, son of Amnon.

To Rut and Yakov Berman, Haifa, on the marriage of their son, Roni, to his fiancée, Pnina.

To Avraham and Ira Bodeker, Haifa, on the marriage of their son, Yakov, to his fiancée, Rina.

To Yitschak Rokhel on the marriage of his granddaughter, Orit, daughter of Eldad and Chasida Avidar (Rokhel), to her fiancé, Ranan Ben-Tsur.

To Yitschak Biberman on the birth of his grandson, Ido, son of Noa and Yair Sherir.

To Bela and Munya Mandelblat, Petach Tikva, on the birth of their granddaughter, Yael, daughter of Vela and Pesach Mandelblat.

To Zahava and Yonatan Rozenberg on the birth of their granddaughter, Gal, daughter of their son, Kalman.

To Batya and Moshe Leviten on the birth of their granddaughter, Edi, to their son, Dani, and his wife, Telma.

[Page 42]

To Betsalel Golberg and his wife, Irena, Haifa, on the birth of their granddaughter, Ana, born to their daughter, Chana, and her husband Arye Akshteyn in 1975, and on the birth of their grandson in 1976.

To Mira and Yehoshue Golberg on the birth of their granddaughter, Ranit, daughter of their son, Yakov, and his wife, Mira, and on the birth of their grandson, Erez, born to their daughter, Dorit, and Ruven Zilberberg.

To Avrasha and Shoshana Bokun, Haifa, on the bar mitzvah of their grandson, Nur, son of Roytel and David Horovits.

To Genya and Yitschak Vakman on the bar mitzvah of their grandson, Barukh Yechezkel, son of Margalit and David Tsvivel.

To Batya and Moshe Leviten on the birth of their granddaughter, Edi, to their son, Dani, and his wife, Telma.

[Page 43]

To Atara Sitsuk (Berger) on the death of husband, father, and grandfather Moshe Sitsuk, of blessed memory.

To Mara (née Krayzelman) and her husband Hamburski, Tel Aviv, on the death of their daughter, Brurya, of blessed memory, of a terminal illness at the age of 18.

To Riva Zeyger, Haifa, on the death of her sister, Berta Rotman, of the Miler family.

To Oren Gintsburg, Jerusalem, on the death of his brother, Yitschak Gintsburg, Haifa.

To the Bezpoysnik family on the death of their husband and father, Itsik, of blessed memory, in New York in February of this year. Itsik left a wife, son, and daughter.

To Matil Sherer on the death of her husband, Mendil, of blessed memory, grandson of Tsadok the ritual slaughterer, of blessed memory. He left a wife, a son, a daughter, and two grandsons.

On a winter day this year, Manus and his wife, Chana, visited the old cemetery in Tel Aviv on Trumpeldor Street, to see the grave of their friend and our fellow townsman, Eliezer Dobkirer, of blessed memory, who has been buried there since 1926. His tombstone had turned into a pile of stones, and it was very difficult to find his grave. Eliezer immigrated to Israel in 1926 and joined the Maavar group, which founded Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha. In 1926, he contracted typhus and died in Hadassah Hospital in Tel Aviv. It is fitting that we, along with Kibbutz Givat Hashlosha, restore his grave. In Pinkas Kremenets, page 223, there is an article on Dobkirer and a picture. There is also a story about him in a picture album published in Givat Hashlosha last year, when the kibbutz celebrated its 50th anniversary.

[Page 44]

Blessings

The board, the women's committee, and all members wish a complete recovery to our vice-president Idel Kotkovnik after a serious operation.

We hope to see him quickly resume his activities for the good of the organization.

The board, the women's committee, and all members wish a complete recovery to our ex-vice-president Yisrael Roykh, and we wish him many healthy years.

The board, the women's committee, and all members of the Kremenets Landsmen's Union in Buenos Aires send hearty greetings to the long-serving president of the Kremenets Landsmen's Union in Tel Aviv, Yitschak Rokhel, on being 80 years young. May he live to 120!

We take this opportunity to recognize, value, and appreciate his productive, faithful, and generous activities to benefit Kremenetsers in Israel.

From deep in our hearts, we wish you, friend Yitschak Rokhel, many healthy and active years working for the general welfare and for the goal of the Kremenets Landsmen's Union.

[Page 45]

The Kremenets Landsmen's Union in Argentina heartily greets our prominent landsman, writer and longtime secretary of the Landsmen's Union in New York, Duvid Rapaport, on being 70 years young.

We wish him long days and years and much creativity.

Condolences

The board, the women's committee, and all members share the sorrow that has befallen our landsmen, Lize and Manye Kamenshayn, Tsvi Berenshteyn, and Bernardo Dorfman on the great loss of their beloved brother-in-law:

Moshe Kamenshayn, may he rest in peace.

May you find comfort in the good name he left behind, and may you know no more sorrow.

On the first anniversary of the death of our ex-committee member:

Hershel Litvintshuk, may he rest in peace,

the board of the Kremenets Landsmen's Union in Buenos Aires expresses our sympathy to his daughter and the whole family, and we hope that they may know no more sorrow.

[Page 46]

We express our deepest sympathy to the Nudel family on the loss of their dear husband, father, and brother:

Niunye (Meir) Nudel, of blessed memory.

He was the son of Yosel Shalom Nudel, an industrious, honest man, a true member and mover in the Kremenets Landsmen's Union in Buenos Aires.

May you find comfort in the good name he left behind, and may you know no more sorrow.

[Page 47]

We offer an ongoing list of the funds recently received from Kremenetsers abroad–an earlier list is in booklet 12, page 65.

For Voice of Kremenets Emigrants
7/10/75	Pesach Gorenshteyn, Paris	$ 20
8/14/75	Shabtay Kolton, Chicago	20
10/9/75	Yisrael Frid, on behalf of Hayde Tshatski, Bronx	25
10/1/75	Morris Medler	20
10/1/75	Norman Desser, Bridgeton	25
10/1/75	Aharon Gelernt, Milan, Italy	40
10/14/75	Duvid Rapaport, Bronx	36
12/8/75	Max Vishnier, Florida	15
12/8/75	via Duvid Rapaport	5
12/21/75	via Duvid Rapaport for Bronfman	5
1/2/76	Shmuel Bieloz, New Jersey	20
3/30/76	Yosef Margolis, Winnipeg	100 (Canadian)
7/6/ 76	Helen and Yakov Vaynberg, Brooklyn	10	$441
For the Organization of Kremenets Emigrants
5/30/75	Yosef Margolis, Winnipeg	200
10/1/75	Yitschak Vakman, New York	25
12/8/75	Soni Bruner-Desser, Winnipeg	20
2/2/76	Max Desser, Winnipeg	20
3/20/76	Sam Mandelshtam, America	15
5/15/76	Mark Desser, Winnipeg	20	295	736
In French francs, for Kol Yotsei Kremenets
	Andrey Gorenshteyn, Paris	100
In Israeli Funds	For the Organization: Tove Teper Kaplan, New York	300 lirot
	For necessities: Yitschak Vakman, New York	970 lirot
	For Kol Yotsei Kremenets, Yitschak Vakman, New York	485 lirot
For the RYB”L Library
6/23/76	Zev Shnayder, Detroit	$100
7/11/76	Yosef Margolis, Canada (for Kol Yotsei Kremenets)	200
Total				$1,036

[Page 48]

Jerusalem:	Gintsburg Aharon	I£ 30	Tel Aviv:	Dora Yakobson Ayzenshteyn, of blessed memory	I£ 25
	Shrentsel Avraham	50		Sheyndel Direktor-Ford	25
Haifa:	Margolit Yosef	100	Holon:	Yitschak Charash	50
	Pikhovits Yurek	100	Ashdod:	Aleksander Bernshteyn /Shalom/	50
	Aharon Sela	50	Pardes Katz:	Tsvi Ben-Efraim /Rubinshteyn/	100
	Andzya Gorenfeld	35	Meshek Givat Chayim:	Mrs. Tsivya Pishot/Grinberg	50
	Dora Atsmon-Leviten	30	Kfar Masarik:	Ela and Meir Golcher	50
	Dugim Avraham, by Yitschak Portnoy	50	Ramat Gan:	Shnayder family, in memory of Misha Shnayder, of blessed memory	150
	Simcha Berger	21
Petach Tikva:	Kagan Netanel	25
	Spektor Bunem	25

Amos Berkovits/by Fishel Teper, obituary in memory of Talya Teper-Berkovits	I£100
Received from Kibbutz Dafna, obituary in memory of Arye Bedolach, of blessed memory	100
Mrs. Katz, Ramat Gan, obituary in memory of her husband Leyb Apelboym	100
Apelboym Rachel, Beersheba, given by Pesach Koyler, obituary in memory of Leyb Apelboym	100

From Mrs. Tsila Shnayder, Haifa, in memory of her husband, the late Misha Shnayder	I£3,000
From Mrs. Litvak Bar-Tana, for the benefit of the RYB”L Library, in memory of her late brother, Pesach Litev/Litvak	500

Income			Expenses
Balance at the beginning of the year			Voice of Kremenets Emigrants		I£3,895
Bank Hapoalim current account	I£4,719		RYB”L Library		1,529
Post Office Bank	36		RYB”L statue payment-on-account to caster		1,200
U.S.$937 in foreign account	3,989	I£8,744	Financial aid to members		1,250
Income from members			Memorial service for the martyrs of Kremenets		639
Membership paid during the annual memorial service	1,106		Organizational expenses
Membership paid during the year	200		Receptions for guests from abroad and board meetings	I£294
Voice of Kremenets Emigrants booklets and obituaries	1,173		Telephone	232
Payment of loans	179		Postage	206
Bank Hapoalim interest	11	2,669	Travel	275
Income from abroad in U.S. Dollars			Office supplies	126	1,333
Voice of Kremenets Emigrants	$260		Additional expenses
RYB”L statue	$200		Paid accounting	350
Financial aid	$100		Scholarship fund expenses	262
Various programs	$140		Bank Hapoalim service charge	4	616
Interest, foreign currency account	$ 60		Total expenses		10,262
	$760	3,833	End-of-year balance
Increase in the dollar index since the beginning of the year		1,633	Bank Hapoalim current account	593
Income from abroad, Israel pounds			Post Office Bank	63
Various organizational activities		419	U.S.$1,097	6,380	7,036
Total		17,298	Total		17,298

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