Shmuel Merlin
Encyclopedia
Shmuel Merlin was a Revisionist Zionist
activist, Irgun
member and Israel
i politician.
(now Moldova
), where he attended high school and joined the Betar
movement. From 1933 to 1938 he was Chief Secretary of the Executive of the World Union of Revisionist Zionists
. In 1938 he became editor of the Yiddish language
Irgun publication in Warsaw
, Di Tat.
At the break of World War II
he made his way to Paris
, where he studied social sciences and history at the University of Paris
, and from there to the United States
, where he was active in creating committees of support for the Irgun and edited the English language
weekly Answer for the “Hebrew Committee for the Liberation of the Nation”. He also served as an emissary for the organization in Europe
in 1948.
In 1948 he immigrated
to Israel on board the Altalena. He was one of the founders of the Herut
Movement, its General Secretary and chief editor of the Herut newspaper. He was elected to the first Knesset
for Herut and was a member of the Internal Affairs Committee. Later, he became a University lecturer in the United States on Middle East
issues. He died in 1994.
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
activist, Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
member and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician.
Biography
Merlin was born in Kishinev in the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
), where he attended high school and joined the Betar
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
movement. From 1933 to 1938 he was Chief Secretary of the Executive of the World Union of Revisionist Zionists
Hatzohar
Hatzohar , officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim was a Revisionist Zionist organisation and political party in Mandate Palestine and newly-independent Israel.-Background:...
. In 1938 he became editor of the Yiddish language
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
Irgun publication in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Di Tat.
At the break of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he made his way to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he studied social sciences and history at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, and from there to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he was active in creating committees of support for the Irgun and edited the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
weekly Answer for the “Hebrew Committee for the Liberation of the Nation”. He also served as an emissary for the organization in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1948.
In 1948 he immigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel on board the Altalena. He was one of the founders of the Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
Movement, its General Secretary and chief editor of the Herut newspaper. He was elected to the first Knesset
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...
for Herut and was a member of the Internal Affairs Committee. Later, he became a University lecturer in the United States on Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
issues. He died in 1994.