JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

farband
jou, king of Sicily, for whom he translated several medical
treatises from Arabic into Latin. Among these are Liber Continens
(Ar. Al-Ḥāwī), a medical encyclopedia in 20 parts by
Rhazes (al-Rāzī), which he finished translating in 1279 and
which was printed five times between 1486 and 1542; Tacuini
Aegritudinum ac Morborum Corporis…, a translation made
in 1280 of the Taqwīm al-Abdān by Abū ʿAlī ibn Jazla; and
De Medicis Expertis by Pseudo-Galen. Faraj’s authorship of
other books cannot definitely be authenticated. However, if,
as seems likely, Faraj is the same person as Moses b. Solomon
of Salerno, he is also the author of a commentary on the
Guide by *Maimonides. A picture of Faraj receiving the Al-
Ḥāwī for translation from Charles I appears in a 13th-century
illuminated manuscript.
Bibliography: Roth, Italy, 93–94.
[Attilio Milano]
FARBAND, American Jewish Labor Zionist fraternal order.
The establishment of the Farband was first conceived in Philadelphia
in 1908 by a small group headed by Meyer L. Brown
which sought to build a fraternal order in which Labor Zionists
would feel at home – one that would combine fraternal
benefits and mutual aid with a Labor Zionist outlook and
program. In the succeeding two years groups were formed
in several cities, and on June 10–16 a founding conference
of the national Farband took place in Rochester, New York.
It adopted the name Yiddish Natzionaler Arbeiter Farband
(Jewish National Workers Alliance) and formulated the following
program:
The JNWA strives to organize all Jewish workers on the
following principles:
1. Mutual help in case of need, sickness, and death.
2. Education of Jewish workers to full awareness of their
national and social interests.
3. Support of all endeavors which lead to the national
liberation and renascence of the Jewish people… support of
all activities which lead to the strengthening and liberation
of the working class.
With the then existing Jewish fraternal orders largely
devoid of ideological content, and with the only other Jewish
workers order – the *Workmen’s Circle (Arbeiter Ring) –
adopting an anti-Zionist position, Farband, with its socialist-
Zionist viewpoint and program in Israel and America, grew
in number from 1,000 in 1911 to 25,000 in 1946 and 40,000
in 1972.
In 1911 Farband developed the first modern insurance
and mutual benefit system for Jewish workers. The organization
received its official charter, licensing it to sell various
insurance and medical plans, from the State of New York on
January 6, 1913, and from Canada in 1921. The main mutual
benefits of Farband include: life, accident, health, hospitalization,
and juvenile insurance; a major medical plan; and savings
and loan groups.
From its inception Farband was involved in Jewish communal
affairs at home and abroad. In 1913 it fought against
the “literacy test” given to immigrants and protested against
the *Beilis Trial. During World War I Farband participated in
the establishment of the American Jewish Congress and the
People’s Relief Committee, and sent many volunteers to fight
in the ranks of the Jewish Legion. During World War II Farband
campaigned actively to raise funds for the Labor Zionist
Committee for Relief and Rehabilitation. It also energetically
supported the founding of the American Jewish Conference
in 1944. Farband has also been active in the civil rights struggle
and has espoused many other liberal causes both in the
United States and Canada.
Farband concentrates much of its energies on cultural
activities. In addition to maintaining a network of day and
evening schools, Farband established “educational bureaus” in
the 1920s to encourage Jewish cultural activities by promoting
“Onegei Shabbat,” musical and drama presentations, seminars,
study groups, and lectures throughout the United States and
Canada. Farband encourages its members to use Hebrew and
Yiddish and in cooperation with the Hillel Foundation has
since 1966 promoted the study of the Yiddish language and
literature on many campuses throughout the United States.
Farband supports the Jewish Teachers’ Seminary, the People’s
University in New York, the Farband Book Publishing Association,
and a number of newspapers and periodicals in Yiddish,
Hebrew, and English. It provides educational programs
during the summer months through its network of summer
camps: in 1926 Unser Camp (for adults) and Kinderwelt (for
youth) were created in New York. The educational and financial
success of these camps stimulated the creation of similar
camps throughout the United States and Canada. Habonim is
the youth movement of the Farband, as well as of Po’alei Zion
and Pioneer Women.
As a Labor Zionist organization Farband has always
maintained strong ties with Ereẓ Israel and the State of Israel,
especially the workers’ groups there. At its founding conference,
it resolved to institute obligatory taxes for the benefit
of workers in Ereẓ Israel. Important Israeli leaders, among
them David Ben-Gurion, Izhak Ben-Zvi, Golda Meir, and
Zalman Shazar, have frequently come to the United States to
address its conventions and leaders. In 1919 Farband opened
a branch in Ereẓ Israel, and during the Mandatory period and
after World War II it campaigned energetically and assisted
with funds and manpower in the creation of the Jewish State.
After the birth of Israel, Farband continued its work on behalf
of the cooperative, pioneering sector through support of
the Histadrut. It consistently invested a part of its insurance
funds in bodies which promote its ideals and today is the largest
investor in Ampal, the American investment arm associated
with the Histadrut.
Since the 1930s the possibility of the unification of Po’alei
Zion and Farband has been discussed frequently, since both
share the same Labor Zionist philosophy, the same goals in
America and Israel, and have cooperated on the most important
national and international projects. In 1954, during Farband’s
Montreal convention, Zalman Shazar, subsequently
712 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6