YOYSEF LIBERMAN (LIEBERMAN)

YOYSEF LIBERMAN (LIEBERMAN) (b. December 28, 1896)

            He lived in the colony of Entre Rios, Argentina, where his father was among the first Jewish colonists in the country.  He studied Yiddish and Hebrew in the colony’s school, later graduating from a Spanish-language high school in Buenos Aires.  For many years he worked as a teacher and director of Jewish and general schools in Argentina.  At the same time he completed his doctoral degree in natural sciences at the Universidad National in Buenos Aires where he would later be a professor himself.  His literary work began (in 1909) with poetry, sketches, and political articles in Folks-shtime (Voice of the people) in Buenos Aires, and he went on to publish in Idisher argentiner vokhnblat (Jewish Argentinian weekly newspaper) in Buenos Aires (1909-1914), and then he became a contributor to Sh. Y. Lyakhovitski’s publications: “Bikhlekh far yedn” (Pamphlets for everyone) (1918-1919); and “Far groys un kleyn” (For big and small) (1922).  He also wrote for the daily newspapers Idishe tsaytung (Jewish newspaper) and Di prese (The press)—in Buenos Aires.  He served as editor of the weekly papers: Dos folk (The people) and Dos idishe folksblat (The Jewish people’s newspaper) in Buenos Aires (1920-1925).  He was a regular contributor to the Spanish-Jewish and Spanish-language newspapers: La Razon (The reason) and La Acción (The action), among others.  For many years he was editor-in-chief of Spanish-language Jewish weekly Israel (Israel) in Buenos Aires, for which he translated stories and essays from Yiddish literature, among them: Sholem Asch’s Di kishufmakherin fun kastilien (The Witch of Castile) and Kidesh hashem (Sanctification of the name) which appeared also in book form.  He edited a Spanish-language journal for middle-school teachers.  His books include: Dos yor 50,000 (The year 50,000), “in the series ‘Bikhlekh far yedn,’ a fantasy of the entire world’s transformation” (Buenos Aires, 1919), 24 pp.; Der paynender sfinks (The tormented sphinx) (Buenos Aires, 1924), 64 pp.  He also authored a series of works in Spanish.  He was last living in Buenos Aires.

Sources: Sh. Y. Lyakhovitski, foreword to Dos yor 50,000 (The year 50,000), p. 3; Sh. Rozhanski, Dos yidishe gedrukte vort in argentina (The published Yiddish word in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1941), p. 176; Volf Bresler, Antologye fun der yidisher literatur in argentine (Anthology of Jewish literature in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1944), p. 925; P. Kats, Shriftn (Writings), vol. 7: Idishe literatur in argentine (Yiddish literature in Argentina) (Buenos Aites1946), p. 57.

Khayim Leyb Fuks