Latsky-Bertoldi Zeev (1881)

Latsky-Bertoldi Zeev Volf (born 1881, Kiev) — public and political figure.

In 1901, Zeev Latsky-Bertoldi was expelled from the Riga Polytechnic Institute for political activities and went abroad. One of the founders of Nachman Syrkin’s Zionist–Socialist group “Heyrut” in Berlin, he later worked illegally in Dvinsk. He participated in a party conference and was elected to the Central Committee. Subsequently, he lived in Vilna, then Vienna, and later in St Petersburg, where he maintained close ties with Jewish émigré organisations.

In 1917, he co-founded the Jewish People’s Party, became its leader, and served as Minister for Jewish Affairs in Ukraine. He was one of the initiators and executive members of the Jewish World Relief Conference. As an emissary of the organisation, he travelled to Chile and later to South America as part of a commission on emigration issues.

At the end of 1925, Latsky-Bertoldi settled in Riga, where he became editor of the newspaper Dos Folk. In 1926, he moved to Frimorgen as editor. He wrote extensively for newspapers and journals and also published several books on Jewish cultural issues, his travels, and general questions of literature and art.

He was chairman of the Jewish Literary Society “Alef”, and a member of several committees in Latvia. Latsky-Bertoldi made a significant contribution to the development of Jewish theatre in Riga. He served on the local committee of the HIAS organisation and was a member of the presidium of the League for Jewish Workers in Eretz Israel. He was a frequent speaker at meetings of various organisations.

It is noteworthy that in his youth he waged an active campaign against the Talmud Torah system and was one of the founders of the “Cheder Metukan” Society, which played a major role in Jewish communal life.