M. S. Arnoni

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M.S. Arnoni in 1971

Menachem Samuel Arnoni (February 1, 1922 – February 10, 1985), known as M.S. Arnoni, was a political activist, journalist, and philosopher. He was best known for editing and creating the left-wing magazine The Minority of One.

Early life[edit]

Arnoni was born in Łódź, Poland in 1922.[1] He was born as Meniek Sztajer, the son of an engineer.[2] In 1944, Arnoni and his family were held in the Łódź Ghetto. In August of that year, he was sent to Auschwitz before he was liberated in May 1945.[2]

Political activism and journalism[edit]

Arnoni moved to the United States in 1954.[3] In 1959, Arnoni founded the monthly magazine The Minority of One,[4] which he described as an independent journal "dedicated to the eradication of all restrictions on thought."[5] The magazine's Board of Sponsors included Bertrand Russell, Albert Schweitzer, and Linus Pauling.[6] It was known for its articles on the peace movement, civil liberties, and criticism of both American and Soviet foreign policy.[7] He was one of the first journalists to criticize the Vietnam War.[8] Oleg Kalugin alleged that Arnoni unknowingly accepted articles on foreign policy for publication that had been prepared by the KGB.[9] The magazine was also critical of the Warren Commission and published articles by prominent critics of the government's investigation into the Kennedy assassination.[10]

Arnoni was critical of negative leftist attitudes towards Israel, arguing in support of the country in his article, later expanded into a book, Rights and Wrongs in the Arab-Israeli Conflict.[11] In 1969, in response to his frustrations with these critics, as well as American involvement in the Vietnam War, Arnoni left the United States and moved to Israel.[5] In 1971 he moved to the Netherlands, where he published the newsletter In Search of Facts, Ideas, and Challenges.[12]

Personal life[edit]

Arnoni married Dutch composer Tera de Marez Oyens in 1976.[13] He was the namesake of the M.S. Arnoni Award, presented by the magazine Jewish Currents.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "M.S. Arnoni". The Detroit Jewish News. February 22, 1985. p. 78. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  2. ^ a b van den Berghe, Gie (1987). Met de dood voor ogen: Begrip en onbegrip tussen overlevenden van nazi-kampen en buitenstaanders. Antwerp: EPO. p. 497. ISBN 9789064456947.
  3. ^ Lewis, Fulton (November 7, 1962). "Washington Report". The Punxsutawney Spirit. p. 4.
  4. ^ Currents on the Left: An Annotated Bibliography of Radical and Left-wing Journals. California State University. 1974. p. 10.
  5. ^ a b Fischbach, Michael R. (2019). The Movement and the Middle East: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Divided the American Left. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9781503611078.
  6. ^ Feinberg, Barry (2013). Bertrand Russell's America: His Transatlantic Travels and Writings. Taylor & Francis. p. 198. ISBN 9781135099480.
  7. ^ "U.S. puts the heat on an editor". National Guardian. December 4, 1961. p. 5. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Rid, Thomas (2020). Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374718657.
  9. ^ Kalugin, Oleg (1994). The First Directorate : My 32 years in intelligence and espionage against the West. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 53.
  10. ^ Talbot, David (2008). Brothers : the hidden history of the Kennedy years. London: Pocket Books. p. 267.
  11. ^ Elazar, Daniel J. (1969). "The Rediscovered Polity: Selections from the Literature of Jewish Public Affairs, 1967-1968". American Jewish Yearbook. 70: 175.
  12. ^ Haag, Jaap. “Guide to the International Archives and Collections at the IISH: Supplement over 1993.” International Review of Social History, vol. 39, no. 3, 1994, pp. 518. JSTOR, JSTOR 44583333. Accessed 15 Jan. 2024.
  13. ^ Baars, Michael (February 20, 2018). "Wansink, Woltera Gerharda (1932-1996)". Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  14. ^ Harap, Louis (2003). The image of the Jew in American literature : from early republic to mass immigration. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. pp. xii. ISBN 0815629915.