YOYEL-TSVI ZHELENYETS (JOEL ZIELENIEC)

YOYEL-TSVI ZHELENYETS (JOEL ZIELENIEC) (May 22, 1914-May 3, 1985)

            He was born in Kosov-Telaki (later, Kosów Lacki), Shedlets (Siedlce) district, Poland.  He studied in religious elementary school and in a Polish public school, later taking a Hebrew evening course.  From his earliest years, he was active in Hashomer Hatsair (Young guard) and secretary of the Jewish National Fund in Shedlets region.  In 1933 he moved to Uruguay to join his father who had earlier moved there.  In 1934 he was a cofounder and secretary of Hashomer Hatsair in Uruguay.  He spent 1942-1943 in Argentina.  He began in 1935 to publish articles in Folksblat (People’s newspaper) in Montevideo.  He was cofounder and a member of the editorial collective of Montevideer shtime (Voice of Montevideo), organ of the “League for Workers in Israel,” which later changed its name to Dos naye vort (The new word).  Using the pen names Y. Yarkuni and A. Kosover, he published articles and essays in (aside from the aforementioned newspapers): Di naye tsayt (The new times) and Ilustrirte literarishe bleter (Illustrated literary leaves) in Buenos Aires; Der nayer moment (The new moment) in São Paolo; and Der veg (The way) in Mexico City.  He was the author of Khinekh un hemshekh, problemen fun yidisher dertsiung (Education and continuation, problems of Jewish education) (Montevideo, 1956), 270 pp.  He died in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Sources: Y. Gak, in Ilustrirte literarishe bleter (Buenos Aires) (November-December 1957); Boyers un mitboyers fun yidishn yishev in urugvay (Founders and builders of the Jewish community in Uruguay) (Montevideo, 1957), pp. 82-108.