Nochum Cemach

... In Hebrew literature, art and theater, Bialystokers left their mark: Chajele Grober, the actress; Nochum Cemach, founder and director of the Habimah National Theater Company; Professor Israel Halperin, historian and author; Yosef Serlin, the late Minister of Health; Professor Lipa Sukenik, noted archaeologist and presi- dent of the historical society that published A. S. Hersz- berg’s two volume Pinkas Bialystok; Dr. Shlomo Kaplan-Kaplanski, a founder and director of the Tech- nion in Haifa; and numerous others who enriched the religion, politics and economy of Israel. ...

... The name Bialystok sounds like a symphony to me. Which other city could have produced so many out- standing people, institutions and a grass-roots move- ment, to expand and to excel? Names such as Chazanowicz, Zamenhof, Mohilewer, M.M. Dolicki (a son of a Bialystoker shochet who became a prominent Hebrew poet), Nochum Cemach, Dr. Lipa Sukenik (archaeologist of the Hebrew University who conducted major excavations in Israel), Ossip Dymow, Pejsach Kaplan, Dr. Szymon Dawidowicz (translator of Spi- noza into Hebrew), the poet M. Segalowicz, and the opera star, Rosa Rayjisa. ...

... 1913 - The Habimah Theater is opened by Nochum Cemach with the play Shma Yisroel by Ossip Dymow, translated into Yiddish by Pejsach Kaplan. ...

... **Nochum Cemach,” the young man replied. “And what do you wish in exchange for your granting permis- sion? What will it cost?’ ...

... Needless to say, the Jewish citizens of Bialystok did not neglect their hometown itself. They organized Yiddish- and Hebrew-speaking schools, gymnasiums (advanced high schools), libraries, theaters, music groups, sports clubs, and a multiplicity of other cultural organizations. Habimah, the famous Hebrew theater company that has delighted audiences throughout the world, was started by Nochum Cemach, a Bialystoker Jew. ...