Israel Zangwill (1864-1926), Novelist and advocate of Jewish causes

Sitter in 9 portraits
Initially a teacher, in 1888 he joined the newly founded weekly newspaper the Jewish Standard for whom he wrote a weekly column. His first novel, The Premier and the Painter (1888), co-written and published under the pseudonym J. Freeman Bell, was well received; his first solo success was The Bachelors' Club (1891). Zangwill's novel Children of the Ghetto(1892) established him as a spokesperson for Jewish people. In 1895, he became involved with the Zionist cause, speaking and writing on its behalf. His most famous play was The Melting Pot (1908). A political play, it advocates the message of tolerance and the assimilation of minority groups into the wider community.