By Dr. Y. Farnhof, Translated by Jessica Cohen
Born in 1869 in Buczacz; awarded the degree of
Doctor of Jurisprudence from the university in Lvov; participated in the
First Zionist Congress as a Buczacz representative; was an attorney for
more than 40 years, a few of them in the oil town of Drohobycz, where he
founded the “Beit Ha’Am” and was very active in strengthening the Zionist
movement, and the rest of the time in Stanislaw. For decades, he was a
very active member in the temple committee in Stanislaw, and was its leader
until the Nazi Holocaust in 1939. Devoted his best efforts to the temple
and left his mark on it: as a proclaimed Zionist, it was not easy for him
under those conditions, but due to his pure character, his honest ways,
his respectable status in the town and his personal merits, his spirit
was very noticeable within the walls of the temple. Was active in the “Bnei
Brith” organization in Stanislaw and filled important posts in it.
Visited Eretz Yisrael in 1932, 1934 and 1937, spending the time from Purim until after Pesach with his family (his son made aliya as a pioneer in 1930).
The Second World War put an end to his plans to make aliya and settle down in Israel, and he met his death in Stanislaw, when the Nazis began annihilating the Jews.
By Dr. Y. Farnhof
