Ernő Márton

Ernő Márton was born in 1896 in Târnăveni

Márton was born in 1896 in Dicsőszentmárton (Târnăveni) in Transylvania, then part of Austria-Hungary. His parents were Yochta and Mordechai, the rabbi of the community. His Hebrew name was Yehezkel.

Following family tradition, he studied for the rabbinate. He also completed law studies at the University of Cluj.

He was among the founders of Új Kelet and soon became its chief editor, a post he held for the rest of his life. He helped found the Jewish Party of Romania, was elected to the Cluj city council in 1919 and served as deputy mayor. In 1932 he was elected to the Romanian parliament.

After northern Transylvania was joined to Hungary in 1940, the paper was banned and he moved to Budapest to chair the Hungarian Zionist movement's executive. In spring 1944 the Romanian consul smuggled him and his family to Romania. In Bucharest he prepared a plan to rescue the remaining Jews of Hungary and later led a food convoy to survivors.

In 1946 he moved to the Land of Israel and renewed Új Kelet in Tel Aviv. He founded the World Federation of Hungarian Jews, served as its first president and helped found the Progressive Party. He died in 1960 and was buried in Nahalat Yitzhak cemetery.