Bernard Bellush, Historian and Activist, Dies at 94

Bernard Bellush Image by courtesy of bellush family
Bernard Bellush, a labor historian and activist, has died of natural causes at age 94.

Bernard Bellush Image by courtesy of bellush family
Bernard Bellush, who was an editor of the the Forverts’s English supplement and served on the Forward Association’s board, died Friday night at a hospital, his wife, Jewel Bellush, wrote in a message to friends.
Bernard Bellush was raised in the Bronx, attended public schools and graduated from City College in 1941. Although raised as a pacifist, he served in the army during World War II, taking part in the landing on Omaha Beach.
He earned a master’s degree in history at Columbia University, with a thesis on Eugene V. Debs, and a Ph.D., with a dissertation on Franklin D. Roosevelt as governor of New York.
Bellush taught American history at Hunter College and at City College, where he served as first chair of the Faculty Senate. He published several books in American history.
He served as a National Board member of the American Veterans Committee, a national Board member of Americans for Democratic Action, a member of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security, and president of the New York Labor History Association.
He frequently lectured on history and baseball, and often appeared together with his wife, Jewel Bellush, also a historian.
He is survived by Jewel Bellush, 87, his wife of 64 years, and their children and grandchildren.
Read Bernard Bellush’s Forward column about fighting in World War II and his column on the protests against the war in Iraq.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Authorities raid Michigan homes that advocates say belong to pro-Palestinian activists
-
Fast Forward 72% of American Jews disapprove of Donald Trump’s performance so far, poll finds
-
Culture Einstein or Edison? Jordan or LeBron? A rabbi explains why Jews debate who is greatest
-
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on U.S. soil. I think I know why no one objected
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.