Osias Thon

Born in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire (today Lviv, Ukraine), Osias (Osjasz) Thon received a traditional education and was drawn to Haskalah literature in his youth. Thon earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Berlin in 1895, having studied under the sociologist Georg Simmel. Two years later, Thon attained rabbinical ordination in Berlin, though his Zionist activism nearly prevented his graduation from seminary. Having been involved in proto-Zionist organizations since his adolescence, Thon maintained correspondences with Theodor Herzl and Ahad Ha-Am and helped organize the First Zionist Congress, although he could not attend. Following the second congress, Thon’s views diverged from Herzl’s, and Thon withdrew from formal Zionist leadership for several years, but he continued his advocacy. In 1907, he mounted a campaign for the Austro-Hungarian legislature. The attempt was unsuccessful, but it laid the groundwork for his later political victory; in 1919, he won a seat in the Polish Sejm. Continuing to serve as a deputy to the Sejm until 1935, Thon published a great number of articles on Zionism and politics in several languages. He died in Kraków.