Jessie Sampter
Encyclopedia
Jessie Sampter was an influential Zionist educator, a poet, and a Zionist pioneer born March 22, 1883 in New York City
. She died at Beilinson Hospital at 10:00 am on November 25, 1938.
Sampter's parents were Rudolph Sampter, an influential New York attorney, and Virginia Kohlberg Sampter who maintained a highly assimilated Jewish home. Sampter was influenced by Henrietta Szold
, Josephine Lazarus, Mary Antin, Mordecai Kaplan, Unitarian minister Rev. Merle St. Croix Wright and others to become an ardent advocate of Judaism
and Zionism
.
Assuming the role of Hadassah
's leading educator, she produced manuals and textbooks and organized lectures and classes. She led Hadassah's School of Zionism, training speakers and leaders for both Hadassah and other Zionist organizations. She also wrote poems and short stories throughout her life that emphasized her primary concerns: pacifism
, Zionism, and social justice.
Having contracted polio at age thirteen she remained in poor health throughout her life. This did not prevent her from settling in Palestine in 1919 where she helped organize the country's first Jewish Scout camp. Sampter developed a strong commitment to assisting Yemenite Jews
, founding classes and clubs especially for Yemenite girls and women who often received no education. At the time of her death, she had established a vegetarian convalescent home at Kibbutz Givat Brenner
. Hadassah
founder Henrietta Szold
presided at her funeral.
Sampter is one of several popular 'philosophers' whose quotations appear on the roadsigns of Project HIMANK in the Ladakh
region of northern India.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She died at Beilinson Hospital at 10:00 am on November 25, 1938.
Sampter's parents were Rudolph Sampter, an influential New York attorney, and Virginia Kohlberg Sampter who maintained a highly assimilated Jewish home. Sampter was influenced by Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
, Josephine Lazarus, Mary Antin, Mordecai Kaplan, Unitarian minister Rev. Merle St. Croix Wright and others to become an ardent advocate of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
.
Assuming the role of Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
's leading educator, she produced manuals and textbooks and organized lectures and classes. She led Hadassah's School of Zionism, training speakers and leaders for both Hadassah and other Zionist organizations. She also wrote poems and short stories throughout her life that emphasized her primary concerns: pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, Zionism, and social justice.
Having contracted polio at age thirteen she remained in poor health throughout her life. This did not prevent her from settling in Palestine in 1919 where she helped organize the country's first Jewish Scout camp. Sampter developed a strong commitment to assisting Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
, founding classes and clubs especially for Yemenite girls and women who often received no education. At the time of her death, she had established a vegetarian convalescent home at Kibbutz Givat Brenner
Givat Brenner
Givat Brenner , also written Giv'at Brener, is a kibbutz in the Center District of Israel. Located around two kilometres south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional Council...
. Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
founder Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
presided at her funeral.
Sampter is one of several popular 'philosophers' whose quotations appear on the roadsigns of Project HIMANK in the Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
region of northern India.
External links
- Link to the book White fire: the life and works of Jessie Sampter by Bertha Badt-Strauss
- Modern Palestine - A Symposium - a collection of Sampter's and others' essays on Zionism, 1933
- Jessie Sampter in Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia