Sheinkin, Menachem

Menachem Sheinkin was born in 1871 in the town of Ulla ( Vitebsk province , Russian Empire , now Belarus ) into a Hasidic rabbinical family.

In early childhood, lost his parents. His older brother arranged a little Menachem for wealthy relatives who lived in the Mogilev province . In his youth, Menachem Sheinkin studied at the yeshiva and earned a living by educating children in the wealthy family of Jacob Krol in the town of Kryukov (now the Kremenchug district). Sheinkin also taught Krol Hebrew and Judaism . Jacob Krol later repatriated to Palestine and worked on a citrus plantation in Petah Tikva . M. Sheinkin himself, under the influence of the ideas of Jewish education, left the yeshiva, externally passed exams for a gymnasium course and entered the historical and philological faculty of Novorossiysk University ( Odessa ), which he graduated in 1900 .

During his studies he became interested in Zionism. In 1898 he created the first Zionist organization in Odessa, which was called "Bnei Zion" (Sons of Zion). As a representative of this organization, Menachem Sheinkin participated in the 2nd Zionist Congress , which was held in Basel in 1898. In 1900, he was also a delegate to the 4th Zionist Congress in London , before which he traveled to Palestine to study the problems facing Jewish settlers.

Menachem Sheinkin immigrated to Israel in 1906 , and founded in Jaffa the information bureau of the Odessa organization Hovevei Zion , which was supposed to help Jews who arrived in Palestine organize their lives and find work.

In 1908, Menachem Sheinkin organized a center for artisans, designed to unite the owners of small workshops in Jaffa .

Sheinkin was one of the founders of the Ahuzat Bayt district, which was the core of the future city of Tel Aviv. Actually, he proposed the name of the new Jewish city in Palestine in 1910 . “Tel Aviv” (which in Hebrew means “Hill of Spring”) was the translation of Theodor Herzl ’s Utopian novel “ Altnoiland ” into Hebrew by Nakhum Sokolov . He explained his proposal as follows: “Our leader Herzl put hope in this name that we have a future in Eretz Yisrael . The word "Tel Aviv" is local, it will be easily accepted by the Arabs and all the local inhabitants. They will quickly get used to it, and it will take root easily. ”

As Tel Aviv expanded, the question arose of building a kiosk on Rothschild Boulevard . Menachem Sheinkin was one of the main opponents of the emergence of a outlet in the new Jewish city. His objections were of a fundamental and socialist character: the inhabitants of the new city should live in a new way, not thinking about money and purchases.

Menachem Sheinkin was one of the founders of the Herzliya Jewish High School in Tel Aviv. The gymnasium was opened in 1909 , and thanks to the propaganda of M. Sheinkin, the number of students in it has grown significantly in just a few years.

In 1910, M. Sheinkin became one of the founders of the "New company for the purchase and sale of land." The main objective of this company was to purchase land on the then borders of Tel Aviv in order to expand the city. In 1913, Morskaya Street became the border of Tel Aviv, in 1917 it was renamed Allenby Street .

In 1912, M. Sheinkin established the Tel Aviv Artisans Association, based on cooperative principles. He was also the initiator of the creation of a new area of ​​artisans. The main street in the area subsequently received his name.

In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, life in Tel Aviv worsened. The flow of money from abroad has stopped, food has risen in price, the number of jobs has decreased. Riots began among the Arab population of the city of Jaffa. An anti-crisis committee was created in Tel Aviv, in which Menachem Sheinkin, Meir Dizengoff and many others participated. The committee took care of the supply of food products , their fair distribution, the prevention of speculation and the provision of jobs for the unemployed. However, soon the Turkish authorities expelled M. Sheinkin from the country as a Russian citizen. Sheinkin left for the United States, where he took part in the creation of the Jewish Legion, as well as in various American Zionist charitable foundations.

In 1919, M. Sheinkin returned to Palestine and was appointed head of the immigration department of the Zionist leadership.

November 3, 1924 Sheinkin was on a trip to the United States , where he was involved in fundraising for Zionist organizations. During this trip, he died in Chicago in a car accident. The widow brought the coffin to Israel, and Sheinkin was buried at the Trumpeldor cemetery in Tel Aviv, next to the grave of the victims of the Jaffa riots in May 1921.

In memory of Sheinkin, streets in various cities of Israel were named. In Tel Aviv, Sheinkin was named after a street in the artisans quarter, organized at the initiative of M. Sheinkin. This street (or rather, its inhabitants, the Sheinkinists) has become a meme in Israeli history and culture.

• Sheinkin Menachem - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia