2024-02-04 19:21:22
The American judge Jacob Fenken was elected for the first time in 1917 to the position of a judge in a municipal court in New York City, a position he held for ten years and again in 1929 and 1931, in his position he worked for the civil rights and workers’ rights of African-Americans and was known as “the people’s judge” ” due to his activity for the masses. The year 1917 was the best year for the American Socialist Party which recorded impressive achievements throughout the USA.
Panken was born in 1879 to a Jewish family in Kiev, the family immigrated to New York City in 1890. As a child, he started working at the age of 12 in odd jobs, in 1905 he finished his law studies and started applying for various positions.
Fenken was the first socialist judge in the USA as he was a member of the Central Committee of the American Socialist Party. In the party he was a member of the Jewish Committee and the Emergency Committee that met in 1919.
At the same time as his position at the court, Panken ran for the position of representative in the US State Congress, for the position of senator for the state of New York and for other senior positions. Between 1934 and 1955 (the year of his retirement) he served in the family court, an appointment made by the mayor of New York Fiorolo La Guardia .
His wife Rachel Palley ran in her own right as the Socialist Party candidate for the New York State Upper House and the New York State Congress in 1919, 1928 and 1934
In 1936 he left the Socialist Party due to internal party conflicts and was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Federation. Panken opposed the First World War and was a prominent anti-Zionist in the Jewish-American left, part of a movement called his sons
York socialism – Yiddish. Panken died on February 4, 1968
For an extensive article on the Forwood website: America’s Socialist Revolution: The 1917 Election of Judge Jacob Panken – The Forward
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