FINEMAN, HAYYIM

FINEMAN, HAYYIM (1886–1959), U.S. educator and Zionist worker. Fineman, who was born in Russia, was taken to the United States by his parents in 1890. He became head of the English department at Temple University in Philadelphia in 1911. Throughout his life Fineman was active in Po'alei Zion\>\> . He was one of the founders of the American organization in 1904. In 1919–20 he was secretary of the Po'ale Zion Commission sent to investigate conditions in Palestine, and on his return he became president of the organization. In 1929 Fineman took up a teaching position in Palestine, resuming his professorship at Temple University in 1933. He helped to establish the Jewish Frontier (1934), of which he was an editor. At a time when the majority of the leaders and members of Po'ale Zion belonged to the Yiddish-speaking community, it was Fineman's special role to present its standpoint to English-speaking Jews, particularly in the academic world. His son DANIEL (1915– ) settled in Israel in 1953 and after teaching in the English department at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, was appointed head of the English department at Tel Aviv University (1964–69) and was dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1966–69.