He was a central figure of New York City's Jewish anarchist circle at the turn of the century, participating with the Pioneers of Liberty and giving speeches.
[1] He was a prominent member[3] of New York City's Pioneers of Liberty, the country's first Jewish anarchist group.
[6] After David Edelstadt died in 1892, Katz and Hillel Solotaroff edited the Fraye Arbeter Shtime.
[7] Katz served on the editorial board of the original Yiddish-language American anarchist periodical Varhayt (Truth),[1][8] which lasted less than a year.
[11] Historian Murray Friedman wrote that Katz left behind his philosophical anarchism for Zionism, as he moved towards nationalism and conservative, nonpartisan views.
His traveling companion, Israel Friedlander, was murdered and Katz too barely escaped Ukrainian pogromists.