Alexander Harkavy

Alexander Harkavy (Yiddish: אַלכּסנדר האַרקאַווי, Russian: Александр Гаркави, Aleksandr Garkavi; May 5, 1863 at Novogrudok (Yiddish: נאַוואַרעדאָק), Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire (now Navahrudak, Hrodna Voblast, Belarus) - 1939 in New York City) was a Russian-born American writer, lexicographer and linguist.

Unlike Bilu, which directed its activities towards Palestine, Am Olam saw a Jewish future in the United States.

In 1882, Harkavy emigrated to the United States but did not succeed in joining or establishing an agricultural entity, finding himself in search of a living.

In Montreal, he achieved some acclaim among local Hebraists and founded a branch of the Lovers of Zion,[1] of which he served as president.

His Yiddish dictionaries show that its vocabulary is as ample as that of the average modern language, and that, if lacking in technical terms, it is richer in idiomatic and characteristic expressions.