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William Bernard Ziff Sr. (August 1, 1898 – December 20, 1953) was an American publishing executive and author.

Early life

By 1916, Ziff was working as an artist. He would later go on to serve as an aviator in World War I.

Ziff Davis Inc.

Ziff and Bernard G. Davis founded the magazine publisher Ziff Davis Inc. in 1927. After his death, in 1953, his son, Bill Ziff Jr., succeeded him at Ziff Davis.

Political views

Being of Jewish ancestry and motivated by the power of Nazi Germany during the 1930s, Ziff became one of the most prominent American endorsers of Revisionist Zionism. During 1935, he was persuaded by devotees of the Revisionist Zionist spokesman Ze'ev Jabotinsky to accept the presidency of the Zionist-Revisionists of America organization although he resigned after one year, being uncomfortable with his role as a Jewish organizational official. Ziff remained active with Zionist politics and caused controversy when he authored during 1938 a criticism of British policy in the Holy Land entitled The Rape of Palestine. The British Foreign Office declared the book "violent and offensive" and monitored Ziff thereafter.

The studied gentility of the upper-bracket Arab leaves little to be desired. Dressed in his Abaye and red tarbush he is a colorful figure. His bearing is languorous and courtly, in vivid contrast to the direct speech and often uncouth manners of the immigrant Jew. Beneath this thin stratum, the balance of the Arab population is primitive in the extreme. For the most part it can hardly be said that they have risen above the stage of barbarism. They are, on the whole, of poor physical type and of low mentality. It would be hard to pose a wider disparity of culture, instinct and mind than lies between these people and the returning Hebrew.

Personal life

On July 25, 1923, he married Denea Fischer (1902–1993); together, they had one daughter and later divorced. Ziff married Amelia Mary Morton (1903–1980) with whom he had three children.

References

1. "W. B. Ziff; 55, Publisher And Author, Dies". Chicago Tribune. December 21, 1953. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
2. "W. B. Ziff, 55, Publisher and Author, Dies". Chicago Daily Tribune. 21 December 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
3. "Obituary". Daily News. 21 December 1953. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
4. "Ziff Davis Corporate Timeline". January 6, 2009. Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
5. "William B. Ziff Jr., 76, Builder of Magazine Empire Dies". The New York Times. September 12, 2006.
6. The Rape Of Palestine By William B. Ziff ( 1938) (with Page Links For The Table Of Contents).
7. "Militant Zionism in America: The Rise and Impact of the Jabotinsky Movement in the United States, 1926-1948" by Rafael Medoff University Alabama Press; 1 edition (July 2, 2002) pp 39-40
8. The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies: "Unsung Hero of Holocaust Refugee Struggle Dies at 96" February 18, 2004
9. Ziff, William (1938). The Rape of Palestine. Longmans, Green & Co. p. 371.
10. Hannan, Caryn (2008). Illinois Biographical Dictionary. State History Publications. p. 741. ISBN 9781878592606.

• 1898 births
• 1953 deaths
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century American Jews
• American magazine founders
• American Zionists
• Businesspeople from New York (state)
• Ziff family