Meisel, Noah

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MEISEL, NOAH

MEISEL, NOAH (1891–1956), Latvian politician, born in Nesvizh, Belarus. From his student days Meisel was a member of the *Bund. In World War i he served in the Russian army as a medical officer. After Latvia became independent (1918), he was appointed municipal health officer in Daugavpils (Dvinsk) and also served as a member of the city council and the Jewish community council. Later, he was elected to the Latvian parliament, where he represented the Bund. After the Fascist takeover (1934) he was arrested together with other Socialist deputies and spent some time in prison. He visited the United States, but did not stay there, returning to Latvia. In 1940, when the Soviet forces overran Latvia, Meisel was arrested – as were other Socialist and democratic leaders – and deported to the far north of the U.S.S.R., where he eventually died.

bibliography:

Yahadut Latvia (1953), index; J.S. Hertz, Doyres Bundistn, 2 (1956), 236–40; lnyl, 5 (1963), 585–6.

[Joseph Gar]

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Meisel, Noah

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