Dr. Gerszon Zipper, executive editor, Chwila (1868 -- 1921) | Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

Name: Dr. Gerszon Zipper, executive editor, Chwila (1868 -- 1921)

Historical Note: Gerszon Zipper was born in Monasterzyska (Monasteryska) in 1868 and died in Lwow (Lviv) in 1921. He was a lawyer, leader of the Zionist Movement in Galicia and chief editor of "Chwila" (“The Moment”). He came from a wealthy merchant family. Already during secondary school he was a member of the Zionist circles. He graduated from law school and obtained the doctorate degree from University of Lwow (1894). He started his political activity in 1892. He cooperated with the Zionist periodical “Przyszlosc” (“The Future”) and was the president of “Syon” association. Shortly after the release of “The Jewish State” he came into contact with the author, Theodore Herzl. Then for a time he moved away from political work and devoted himself to a law career (since 1900 he ran his own law firm), gaining a prominent position in the Lviv Chamber of Advocates. Impressed by the manifesto of assimilators (Emil Byk) of 1905, he returned to the political activity. He was co-founder and editor of the daily "Togblat" (from 1906) and the spiritus movens of buying competitive "Najes Lemberger Togblat". After a stay in Palestine (in 1913), he organized a fundraiser to build a Hebrew Gymnasium in Jerusalem (he collected a 100 thousand. Swiss Francs). During World War I he served in the Austrian army. He returned to Lwow in 1918. He led the East Galician Zionist Executive Committee and simultaneously the action of assistance to the victims of the pogrom of November 21-23, 1918. He belonged to the inner circle of the creators of the daily "Chwila".Gerszon Zipper, political activist of Zionist orientation, lawyer, literati, executive editor of Jewish-Polihs daily Chwila, published in Lwow (Lviv)

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