Itzhak Jacob Karpman (1914-1997) was born on April 11, 1914 in Warsaw, Poland. He was the youngest of five children of Abraham and Hanna Premsky Karpman. His siblings: Regina Chaicze, Fela Feigl, Marysia Masha and Meir Bezalel and their mother, Hanna, were all deported from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka killing center. Abraham Karpman died in the ghetto in 1941.
Before the war the Karpman family lived on Graniczna Street in Warsaw. Itzhak graduated from high school and later attended the Business Administration School in Warsaw. As a young man he became very involved in a Zionist youth movement; at first he joined “Hashomer Ha’tzair” and later “Hashomer Haleumi,” which later became “Hashomer Ha’tzioni.” Itzhak demonstrated exceptional organizational skills and quickly became a member of the Executive Board (“Hanhaga Rashit”) of the movement. He traveled extensively in Poland and in Lithuania between the different branches of the “Hashomer Ha’tzioni” on the behalf of the Board. Itzhak had excellent communication skills, which helped him to develop good contacts with leaders of other Zionist organizations in Poland. In addition he served as one of the editors of “Bloy-Vays,” a Yiddish Zionist newspaper in Vilna. Itzhak Karpman was very popular among the members of the “Hashomer Ha’tzioni” with whom he spent many summers and winters in “hachsharot” – preparation for immigration to Palestine. He participated in many official meetings of the movement, which were held at different locations. In 1936 Itzhak realized the dream of his group and immigrated to Palestine. He joined a kibbutz at first, but after a short while he settled in Tel Aviv and worked for the Zionist Confederation of Palestine. Itzhak married Esther Goldfinger, his longtime girlfriend, on December 22, 1939. In 1946 Itzhak moved his family to the US, where he became the director of the World Confederation of General Zionists. In later years he devoted his time to publishing and editing books in the field of Judaica, among them “The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia;” he was the founder of the Encyclopedia Judaica Research Foundation and executive editor of the “Oxford Dictionary of Jewish religion.” Itzhak and Esther Karpman have three children: Dahlia, Daniel and Diana as well as five grandchildren: Jonathan, Michael, Deborah, Reuben and Hanna. Itzhak died in 1997. Esther Karpman currently resides in New York City.
