Berl Katznelson
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Berl Katznelson (1887 - 1944) was a Labor Zionism philosopher.
He is regarded as one of the intellectual personalities behind the rise of modern Zionism which led to the establishsment of the modern State of Israel.
He was born in Bobruysk, Belarus, and dreamed of emigrating from his early youth. In Belarus, he was a librarian in a Hebrew-Yiddish library and a teacher of Hebrew literature and Jewish history. He emigrated in 1909 and worked on farms and served on labor councils. With Meir Rothberg, he founded the consumer cooperative for sale of food known as the Hamashbir. He helped to establish the sick fund, the Kuppat Holim, which is a fixture in Israel today.
He became the editor of the Histadrut newspaper, Davar, as well as the founder and first Editor-in-Chief of the Histadrut publishing house, Am Oved. Monuments to his memory were built at Bet Berl in Zofit, Oholo on Lake Kinneret, and Kibbutz Be'eri.
