BECKER, JULIUS

BECKER, JULIUS (1881–1945), German Zionist journalist and politician. Becker was born in Gottesberg, Silesia, into an acculturated German-Jewish trading family. He studied at Berne University (Ph.D. in graphology). While in Switzerland, he joined the Zionist Democratic Fraction of Ch. *Weizmann, who had been appointed assistant lecturer at Geneva University in 1901. Shortly after, Becker moved to Berlin and joined the staff of the renewed Zionist weekly Juedische Rundschau (1895–1938), which, in Oct. 1902, had been taken over by H. *Loewe. Originally established as Berliner Vereinsbote (1895–1901) and first renamed Israelitische Rundschau (1901–02), it served as the official organ of the Zionistische Vereinigung fuer Deutschland (est. 1897). When Loewe resigned in Dec. 1908, Becker became editor-in-chief, followed by Felix Abraham in Oct. 1911. From 1906 to 1913, he also frequently contributed to the central Zionist organ Die Welt (1897–1914), signing himself "JB." In 1908, immediately after the Young Turk Revolution, he assisted R. *Lichtheim and V. *Jabotinsky in Constantinople to win the new regime's support for Zionism. Soon, Becker became a prominent figure in German Zionist organizations and was elected to both the Executive and Central Committee of the zvfd. In addition, Becker contributed to political publications, especially those of the Ullstein company, such as Berliner Morgenpost (est. 1898) and Vossische Zeitung (taken over in 1913 and edited by G. *Bernhard). After 1919, Becker became correspondent of the Vossische Zeitung at the League of Nations in Geneva, for a time also chairing the assembly of press correspondents assigned to the League. From 1925, he extended considerable help to V. *Jacobson, the delegate of the Jewish Agency at the League, taking over this post on the latter's death in Aug. 1934. In 1935, Becker went to Shanghai to organize the Chinese Information Service for the Kuomintang government, returning to Switzerland in 1937. As a stateless person, he had to emigrate to the United States in 1941, where he continued his journalistic activities. In his History of German Zionism (1954), Lichtheim described Becker as "a very gifted journalist and a charming companion who, due to his numerous contacts, served Zionism a great deal."

bibliography:

S. Rawidowitz (ed.), Sefer Sokolow, (1943), 353–60; Aufbau. No. 18 (1945); mb (June 29, 1945); M. Waldman, in: Ha-Olam (July 5, 1945); R. Lichtheim, Geschichte des deutschen Zionismus (1954), 157, 195; K. Blumenfeld, in: M. Sambursky and J. Ginat (eds.), Im Kampf um den Zionismus (1976), 299; Y. Eloni, Zionismus in Deutschland (1987), index; H. Schmuck (ed.), Jewish Biographical Archive (1995), F. 123, 303; Series ii (2003), F. ii/46, 330–36.

[Johannes Valentin Schwarz (2^nd ed.)]