<paul.flewers@virgin.net>

Baruch Hirson (1921-1999)

Baruch Hirson, veteran South African revolutionary, died this
morning after a long illness.

Baruch was born in South Africa to a Jewish family which had
emigrated from Latvia. He joined the Hashomer Hatzair, a
left-wing Zionist  youth movement, in 1940, and subsequently
joined the Trotskyist  movement, to which he adhered, albeit in
a critical manner, until his death.

Baruch and his comrades did much valuable work in helping the
development of black trade unions in very difficult conditions.
He ensured that the flag of socialism was held high at times
when and  in places where it was in danger of being obscured by
other banners.  By the early 1960s, however, Baruch's group had
gravitated towards  sabotage tactics, which resulted in its
members being jailed. Baruch spent  nine years in a South
African jail, and upon his release he and his family moved to
Britain, where he worked as a university lecturer.

I first met Baruch about 12 years ago. I had many long talks
with him in his North London house, on all manner of subjects,
largely but by no means always on political matters, as he had a
wide range of interests. I was always made very welcome by him
and his wife Yael. He criticised in an intelligent and sharp
manner many of the sacred cows of the left, not least its
predilection for narrow, intolerant party structures, and its
constant dalliances with non-socialist movements. He had become
critical of his group's move into sabotage tactics, and was
insistent that the left should not engage in guerrillaism.

I and others who talked with him always felt that although we
might not agree with what he said, nobody left him without
feeling that the discussions had been most worthwhile and
thought-provoking.

Baruch visited South Africa after the fall of apartheid, and
whilst pleased with the demise of the racist system that he had
opposed all his adult life, he was unhappy about (if not
surprised by) by the pro-capitalist path being led by the ANC.

Baruch wrote several books, which are all well worth reading.
_Year of Fire, Year of Ash_ investigates the Soweto uprising of
1976, _Yours for the Union_ looks at the rise of black trade
unions in South Africa, _Strike Across the Empire_ covers the
seamen's strike of 1925, _The Delegate for Africa_, co-written
with Gwyn Williams, is a biography of David Ivon Jones, a
pioneer of communism in South Africa, and _Revolutions in my
Life_ is his autobiography.*

Baruch also provided the material for an issue of Revolutionary
History on South African Trotskyism, and edited in the 1990s 12
issues of Searchlight South Africa, a quarterly magazine that
gave a left-wing analysis of events in South Africa, and raised
many issues that other left-wing publications would not touch,
not least the revelations about the ANC's appalling treatment of
dissident members. He also had published by academic
institutions a large number of monographs on African affairs.

Baruch's health declined through the 1990s, and he was
housebound and often in pain over the last two years. He
doggedly kept on working, drafting a biography of US SWPer Frank
Glass, and books on Olive Schreiner and Rayna Prohme.

With Baruch's passing, we have lost a dear and courageous
comrade, a deep and incisive thinker, an authority on South
African affairs, and a link with the past. We send our
condolences to Yael, her sons and daughter and all their
relations and friends.

         *******************************************
         Editor's Note:
         The following bibliography may also be of
         interest to readers.
                                           pl
         *******************************************

_Year of fire, year of ash: the Soweto revolt, roots of a
revolution?_ London: Zed, 1979

_Yours for the union: class and community struggles in South
Africa, 1930-1947_. London, 1990

_Strike across the Empire: the seamen's strike of 1925 ; in
Britain, South Africa and Australasia_,  Baruch Hirson and
Lorraine Vivian_. London: Clio, 1992.

_The delegate for Africa: David Ivon Jones, 1883-1924_, by
Baruch Hirson & Gwyn A. Williams. London: Core Publications,
1995.

_Revolutions in my life_. Johannesburg : Witwatersrand
University Press, 1995]

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