Morris Alexander | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1877 |
| Died | Jan 24 1946 |
| Alma mater | St. John's University |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Years active | 1908-1946 |
| Political party | South African Party |
| Spouse | Ruth Shechter 1908-1935 Enid Asenath Baumberg 1935-≤1946 |
| Children | 3 |
Morris Alexander (1877- 1946) was a South African Jewish politician. Morris was born in 1877 in Znin, Poland in 1877 to a German Jewish Family. He Moved the Cape Town in 1904 founding the Jewish Board of Deputies for the Cape Colony in that same year. Morris would be educated at St. John's College in Cambridge He would marry a woman named Ruth Schechter in June 1907. They would 3 kids but divorced in 1935, he would later remarry Enid Asenath Baumberg. He would be a member of the Cape of Good Hope Parliament from 1908 to 1910 and later a member of the Union of South Africa Parliament from 1910 until his death in 1946.
Personal Life[edit]
Born to a German Jewish family in 1877, Morris would move to South Africa in 1904 at the age of 17. He would be educated St. Johns Universtiy. Morris Alexander would be married to Ruth Shechter, the daughter of Solomon Shechter in June 1907. They would have two sons and one daughter with her before they divorced in 1935. He would remarry a woman named Enid Asenath Baumberg.[1]
Political Career[edit]
Morris would first get into Politics in 1904 when he founded the Cape Jewish Board of Deputies which dealt with issues of Jewish immigration to the Cape of Good Hope. From 1908-1910 Morris would be elected to the Cape of Good Hope Parliament. During this time he would have Yiddish reclassified from a Semitic language to a European one allowing Yiddish speakers to emigrate to South Africa without being stopped on the grounds of race.[2] Prior to this many jewish immigrants to South Africa where rejected on racial grounds. he later suggested that a chief officer of jewish immigration be appointed and on January 1st 1914 Mr. B.S. Hersch was appointed to that role. This would be significant as after WW1 many jews Immigrated to South Africa. In his later career he would work for the interests of the countries racial minorities, join South Africa Party and become a devotee of the ideas of Jan Smuts, and would become a significant Jewish community leader.[3][4]
References[edit]
- ^ "Olive Schreiner Letters Online". www.oliveschreiner.org. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ "Morris Alexander, Prominent Jewish Legislator, Dies in South Africa". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ "Alexander, Morris".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "SASIG - Southern Africa Jewish Genealogy: Morris Alexander Immigration Notebook 1911". www.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2024-05-05.