Portnoy Ber Aronovich (b. 2 October 1923, Daugavpils) — accountant, bookbinder.
Ber Portnoy was the son of Polish citizens Gershon Portnoy (1891, Poland — 1943, corrective labour camp) and Yudif Portnaya (1901, Poland — 1956). He completed nine grades of primary school.
In 1941, Ber together with his parents, brother Pinkhus Portnoy (1930, Daugavpils), and sister Khena Hertzberg (née Portnaya) (1934, Riga), was deported from Latvia: Ber’s father was a major trader in bicycles and furs with an annual business turnover exceeding 243,000 lats, and also the owner of a large horticultural enterprise. Ber’s father died in a corrective labour camp. Ber himself was removed from the special-settlement register in 1956.
In 1941–1943, Ber Portnoy worked as a labourer at a sleeper-cutting facility. From 1943 to 1949, he was unable to work due to disability. In 1949, he completed bookkeeping courses. In 1949–1951, he worked as a quality inspector at Krasnoyarsk Glavshakhtoles at Reshety station (Krasnoyarsk Region). In 1951–1957, he was employed as an accountant at a closed enterprise (P.O. Box 235).
In 1957, he moved to Riga, where until 1958 he worked as an accountant at the Riga Office of Labour Reserves. Due to health reasons, he was forced to leave accounting and change profession. From 1959, he worked as a bookbinder in the artels “Trud” and “Rīgas Ekspresis”. He had a third-degree disability from 1958.
In marriage with Miryama Blumenfeld (1926, Riga), a daughter, Bella Portnaya (1953, Krasnoyarsk Region), was born. In 1971, Ber Portnoy received permission to emigrate to Israel at the invitation of his wife’s maternal aunts, Esfir Stok (1898, Brest) and Adelia Landau (…). Subsequently, he worked at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Family:
Miryama Blumenfeld (1926, Riga) — wife
Bella Portnaya (1953, Krasnoyarsk Region) — daughter
Gershon Portnoy (1891, Poland — 1943) — father
Yudif Portnaya (1901, Poland — 1956) — mother
Pinkhus Portnoy (1930, Daugavpils) — brother
Khena Hertzberg (née Portnaya) (1934, Riga) — sister
Esfir Stok (1898, Brest) — wife’s maternal aunt
Adelia Landau (…) — wife’s maternal aunt