Nathan Birnbaum was an Austrian writer and journalist, Jewish thinker and nationalist.
13 Facts About Nathan Birnbaum
2.
Nathan Birnbaum married Rosa Korngut and they had three sons: Solomon Birnbaum, Menachem Birnbaum, and Uriel Birnbaum.
3.
Nathan Birnbaum's father, Menachem Mendel Birnbaum, a merchant, hailed from Ropshitz, Galicia, and his mother, Miriam Birnbaum, who was born in northern Hungary, of a family with illustrious rabbinic lineage, had moved as a child to Tarnow, Galicia, where the two met and married.
4.
From 1882 to 1886, Nathan Birnbaum studied law, philosophy and Near Eastern studies at the University of Vienna.
5.
Nathan Birnbaum played a prominent part in the First Zionist Congress where he was elected Secretary-General of the Zionist Organization.
6.
Nathan Birnbaum was associated with and was one of the most important representatives of the cultural, rather than political, side of Zionism.
7.
Nathan Birnbaum was unhappy with its negative view of Diaspora Jewry and the transformation of the Zionist ideals into a party machine.
8.
Nathan Birnbaum advocated for the Jews to be recognized as a people among the other peoples of the empire, with Yiddish as their official language.
9.
Nathan Birnbaum ran on behalf of the Jews as candidate for the Austrian parliament.
10.
From about 1912 onwards, Nathan Birnbaum became increasingly interested in Orthodox Judaism, and he became a fully observant Orthodox Jew in about 1916.
11.
Nathan Birnbaum continued to act particularly as an advocate for the Jews of eastern Europe and the Yiddish language.
12.
Nathan Birnbaum founded the society of the "Olim", a society with a specific program of action dedicated to the spiritual ascent of the Jewish people.
13.
Nathan Birnbaum died in Scheveningen in 1937 after a period of severe illness.