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Short Biography and Bibliography

Dr. Mayer Ebner - (Meir Avner)  1872-1955


Mayer Ebner - son of Jacob and Machle Ebner was the leader of the Zionist Jews (who believed in Herzel's ideas and vision) in Bukovina and greater Rumania.

Ebner was born in Czernowitz, received a traditional Jewish education and completed law school at the university of Czernowitz.

He participated in 1891, in the establishment of the Jewish national student association- named 'Hasmonea' .

With Herzel's advent, Ebner joined the Zionist Organization attending the First Zionist Congress in Basel (1897) and almost all succeeding Congresses until his death in Israel.

Ebner was active in Jewish affairs in Bukovina and at the same time worked to obtain Jewish representation in Vienna – in the local Landtag and the Reichsrat (Austro – Hungarian Era).

In 1910 he helped Leon Kellner to found the the 'Jewish People's Council (Judischer Volksrat).

Ebner was exiled to Siberia by the Russian conquerors in 1915, returned in 1917 and joined the socialist Jacob Pistiner (1882-1930) in setting up the Jewish National Council (Judischer Nationalrat) in 1918.

When Bukovina was annexed to Rumania in 1918 (After the 1st World War) Ebner led the struggle for Jewish rights.

Between the world wars Ebner directed the national leadership of Bukovinian Jewry and served there as longtime chairman of the Zionist Organization.

In the Austro –Hungarian era and between the world wars Ebner devoted his energies not only defending the individual and civil rights of the Jews but to securing their rights as a national minority, not only as culture or religion (see Die Welt- February 1901-Realpolitik- by M. Ebner in the Documents section).

The leadership of Bukovinian Jewry was shaped then by B. Straucher (1854-1940) and by Mayer Ebner which turned into a bitter rivalry called "Thirty Tears War".

Ebner founded in 1919 his newspaper 'Ostjudische Zeitung'  (1919-1938) in which he, as editor and writer advocated Zionism as well as the Jewish national policy in the Diaspora. This newspaper became the chief Zionist organ in the region.

In 1926 the Jewish Unity Party (Judische Einheits Partei) – The Zionist party in Bukovina founded by Ebner and B. Flaminger and Karl Kluger published a platform and demands in the spirit of the Jewish National Council.

In 1926 Ebner became head of the Czernowitz Jewish community. In the same year he was elected to the Rumanian parliament  (House of Deputies) in Bucharest where he advocated with courage the rights of the Jews. (Karl Kluger was elected to the senate).

In 1928 Ebner was elected to the Rumanian Senate heading the Jewish Faction  (caucus) of four members: M.Landau, J. Fischer, T Fischer. M.Weissman and M. Ebner.

In 1931 he took part in the foundation of the 'Jewish National Party' of Rumania as the key ideologue of the party. He was several times elected on its behalf to the Rumanian parliament, until his election was prevented in 1934, through the machinations of the government.

Ebner attended the international Congresses of National Minorities in Geneva and functioned on these occasions as  Vice–president of the International Zionist Organization after the death of Leo Motzkin in 1933.

In 1934 he attended the trial in Switzerland against "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" as a witness against all the anti-Semitic accusations.

In 1939 Ebner attended the 21st.  Zionist Congress in Zurich and from there travelled to Israel to settle there. His son Joseph Ebner was already there since 1934, waiting for his parents Mayer and Adele to join him.

The daughter of Mayer Ebner, Nataly Cremnitzer, immigrated to Israel in 1950 with her husband Lucius (Advocate).

The daughter of Mayer Ebner,  Alma Menczer,  her husband Erwin and child Ariel, did not survive in Transnistria.

The son of Mayer Ebner, Dr. Joseph Ebner, immigrated to Israel in 1934. In 1950 he married Bronka Eisenberg from Rzeshov Galicia. They had one daughter: Zlila Ebner (Helman) born  in Israel on 2.11.1951 - a symbolic date as the Balfour Declaration was on 2.11.1917.

In Palestine (Israel) Ebner remained active in public life and continued to write in the local newspapers (Haaretz, Hayom, Haboker).

After his retirement he was made a permanent member in the Zionist Organization.

Ebner attended on 14.5.1948 in Tel Aviv the declaration of the creation of a Jewish state- Israel by David Ben Gurion.

Thus his fight came to an end: His dream,  his efforts, and all that he had fought for came to pass.

After Ebner's  death in Israel, streets were named after him in Tel Aviv, Natanya, Rischon le Zion, Ramat Gan, and Jerusalem.


Zlila Ebner Helman
Granddaughter of Mayer Ebner
October 2009

Bibliography:

Kleinman-Enziklopedia le zionut (Hebrew)
M.Reifer - Dr M Ebner (German)
Grunbaum-Pnei - ha- dor (Hebrew)
Gold Hugo - The History of the Jews of Bukovina  (German)
Schaari David – Jews of Bukovina between two world wars  (Hebrew)
Yavetz Zvi- My Czernowitz (Hebrew)
Rotman and Vago (ed) The History of the Jews in Romania (English)
Hildrun Glass - Zerbrochene Nachbarschaft - 1918-1938 (German)
Hausleitner Mariana - Romanisierung der Bukowina - 1918-1944 (German)