Tag Archives: Israel

The Life and Times of Solly Chesler

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Andrew

By Jennifer Chesler Rubin, Ramat Efal, Israel (Adapted from an essay by Muriel Chesler on the occasion of Solly Chesler’s 75th birthday.) This is the story of my father, the late Solly (Sholem) Chesler, a self-made man, who arrived in … Continue reading →

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Tracing the Pick Family

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Andrew

The following was submitted by Aryeh Leonard Shcherbakov. What do we know about Aharon Pick’s family from Keidan (Kėdainiai) There are many reasons why the name of Aharon Pick has long attracted our attention: He was born in Keidan, he … Continue reading →

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Recalling those who survived the Keidan massacre

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Andrew

By Aryeh Leonard Shcherbakov Preface When talking of the Jews of Keidan, the first who naturally come to mind are those who were murdered: our grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins lying in the mass grave on the outskirts of town. … Continue reading →

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Recalling those who survived: Lists

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Andrew

The first list below contains the names of Keidaners known to have survived the Holocaust, along with short biographic summaries where those could be obtained. The second list contains the names of young men who escaped the mass slaughter in … Continue reading →

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Exodus, Interrupted

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Andrew

The story of Keidan’s Sroelov and Smilg families By Tamar Dothan (Jerusalem) My grandparents, Chaya Smilg and Chaim Ber Sroelov, were married before World War I. Chaim Ber was operating the family’s wholesale beer business, as his father had passed … Continue reading →

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A Family Dispersed

Posted on March 10, 2020 by ACassel

By Sonja Shacknofsky-Setting My father, Joseph Setting, was born in Keidan in 1910. He arrived in Cape Town on Christmas morning, 1927, then went on to Johannesburg, where he found work with relatives. My grandparents likely sent him to South … Continue reading →

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A Flag Comes Home After 16 Years

Posted on March 8, 2020 by ACassel

Originally published in “Israel Horizons” magazine, Dec. 1956. Miracles can happen even to a flag. Recently, the flag of Gdud Maapilim, of Ken Keidani of Hashomer Hatzair, was brought to Israel, the only flag of the Lithuanian youth movement to … Continue reading →

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The Russian Exile

Posted on March 2, 2020 by ACassel

By Bella Adler (Basel, Switz.) I was born and raised in Keidan. Our Jewish life was very well developed. We had Tarbut and progymnasium Hebrew schools. Most young people were Zionists. We had Hashomer Hatzair, Beitar and other organizations. We … Continue reading →

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Zvi Lipschitz, Zionist Martyr

Posted on February 27, 2020 by ACassel

By Ben-Moshe (Johannesburg) Originally published in the Keidaner Sick Benefit & Benevolent Society jubilee book, 1950.  Young Zvi Lipschitz hy’d [1], from Kfar Etzion, was a Keidaner landsman. He was born in 1919 in the town of Yasven (Josvainiai), near … Continue reading →

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Rabbi Avraham Halevy Sochen

Posted on February 27, 2020 by ACassel

By Dr. Mordechai Sochen (Minneapolis) My father, Rabbi Avraham Halevy Sochen (may he rest in peace) came to Keidan at the end of the last [19th] century, and married my mother (may she rest in peace), Feyge, daughter of Reb … Continue reading →

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