Israel Wachser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Israel Wachser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | ישראל וואקסער |
| Born | 1892 |
| Died | 24 May 1919 (aged 26–27) Krivozer, Podolian Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Language | Yiddish, Hebrew |
Israel Wachser (Yiddish: ישראל װאַקסער; 1892 – 24 May 1919) was a Russian writer of Yiddish and Hebrew short stories and children's literature.
Wachser was born to Aryeh Yehuda-Leib ha-Kohen in Dashiv, Russian Empire. He was educated by his father, who served as rabbi in the town (later in Tulchyn and Pestshan, Podolia), was well-versed in Russian, Hebrew, and Yiddish literature, and occasionally contributed to the Maskilic Hebrew periodicals Ha-Melitz, Ha-Tzfira, and Ha-Pisga.[1][2]
By the beginning of World War I, Wachser had begun working as a teacher in Kiev, and writing Hebrew and Yiddish poetry and prose.[2] In 1916, he took a teaching position in a school for refugees in Baku,[2] but was forced to flee the city amid the beginning of the Armenian–Azerbaijani War. He hastily destroyed most of his writings before leaving, although his older brother was able to save the remaining part of his work.[1] Wachser spent some time in Odesa before settling in the Podolian town of Krivozer.[2]
Along with several other young Jews, he was killed on 24 May 1919 while defending the local Jewish population from Ukrainian pogromists.[3][4]
