Toma Sik

Toma Sik was born in 1939 in Budapest

Toma Sik was born in Budapest on 17 August 1939 to Andre, a print worker, and Ilona Sik. During the Nazi takeover of the city, part of his family was sent to Auschwitz, and he survived in the ghetto with his grandmother. Under communist rule he joined the Komsomol youth movement.

In 1950 his mother moved to Israel and he had to go with her against his will. He was sent to the Aloney Yitzhak youth village, where his name was changed to Yeshayahu. There he became a vegetarian and later a vegan, and turned away from religion.

In 1957 he declared he would not serve in the army for reasons of conscience. For about 30 years he supported conscientious objectors and was active in the Israeli branch of War Resisters International. He also joined Gush Shalom, worked for Al-Fajr as a columnist and translator, and helped found the Secular Humanist Association in Israel.

He fought for recognition of his contract marriage with Bella as a civil marriage, and succeeded in 1966. From 1974 he devoted himself to public activity and lived simply. He promoted Esperanto and hosted Esperanto meetings in his Tel Aviv home.

In the late 1990s he left Israel and settled in Hungary, where he tried to set up an egalitarian vegan farming commune. He died on 13 July 2004 after being hit by a tractor while walking home at night.