Leo Winz

Born in Hlukiv, Russian Empire (today in Ukraine), Winz began contributing to the Hebrew press at a young age, writing for Ha-Melits as well as Nahum Sokolow’s Ha-Tsefirah. Having moved to Berlin in the 1890s, Winz studied at the University of Berlin with the sociologist Georg Simmel, among others. He also became active in proto-Zionist groups and joined the leadership of the Zionist movement in Germany following the formation of the Zionist Organization in 1897. In 1901, together with his colleague Davis Trietsch, he founded the magazine Ost und West. Winz ran Ost und West until 1923, during which time it served as the key organ in German for a more expansive and nationally defined vision of Jewish culture. In the 1920s, Winz moved to Palestine. He returned to Berlin in 1926 to edit the newspaper of the Jewish community of Berlin, and he moved to Palestine once again in 1935, settling permanently in Tel Aviv.