Tag #127867 - Interview #98363 (Aron Ishakh)

The leadership of the Jewish community included a large number of Jews mainly from the Zionist organizations. Individuals from other political parties and organizations did not have much influence in the Jewish community. The  Jewish community's political inclinations fell in two directions – Zionism and Jewish religious rites and traditions. Suddenly, the military period aggravated the scuffles between the various Jewish organizations and increased the gap between their ideological beliefs. At one end of the spectrum were all the Zionist organizations: ‘Poale Zion’ [leftist Zionism]; ‘General Zionists’; and ‘Revisionists’, who were unanimous that the Jews should avoid any intervention in the war against fascism. They thought that any participation of Jews would increase anti-Semitic attitudes. So they ran an overt campaign to dissuade the Jews. The leadership of the Jewish community, headed by the chairman Yosif Levi, took their side. On a number of occasions on Erev Sabbath in the big synagogue, he appealed to the parents to do their best to influence their children not to take part in the anti-fascist struggle. At the other end of the spectrum was ‘Hashomer Hatzair’, under the influence of Izidor Ayzner, Yako Yakov and Tinka Dzhain, who supported the anti-fascist struggle. Some of the youth from ‘Maccabi’, among them Moni Hakim, Miko Yulzari, Fifi Mashiah and Liza Hason, attracted a large following. These young people from Ruse, organized into groups of three, were involved in illegal activities against fascism.