In 1901 Panken left accountancy to go to work as an organizer for the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. An outspoken opponent of World War I, Panken was a member of the
People's Council for Democracy and Peace in 1917. depicting the New York
Old Guard at the
1919 Emergency National Convention of the SPA.
Left to right: Louis Waldman,
Algernon Lee,
Abraham Shiplacoff,
Jacob Panken,
August Claessens,
Abraham Beckerman,
Charles Solomon, and
Alexander Braunstein. Panken was a leading figure in the bitter
1919 Emergency National Convention of the SPA, chairing the all-important Credentials Committee which acted as a filter to insure the victory of the "Regular" faction headed by Executive Secretary
Adolph Germer,
New York state party leader
Julius Gerber, and National Executive Committee member
James Oneal. He was also a delegate to subsequent SPA conventions held in 1920, 1924, and 1932.
Socialist Party campaign poster featuring Panken as a candidate for Judge of the
Municipal Court in the 2nd District, 1917 Panken was a frequent candidate for public office on the Socialist Party ticket. He first ran for
New York State Senate in the 11th District in 1908. During his time on the bench, Panken remained a candidate for high offices on behalf of the Socialist Party, pursuing a seat as
U.S. Senator from New York in
1920 and running for
Mayor of New York in
1921. campaign poster featuring Panken as a candidate for re-election as Judge of the
Municipal Court in the 2nd District, 1927 Running for re-election in 1927, Panken declined to accept endorsement from both the
Republican and
Communist parties and was defeated in his re-election bid. The result of the election was challenged, with allegations of vote rigging, including an allegation that the lever for Panken's name was rendered inoperable in one district. The Socialist weekly
The New Leader was livid, running a banner headline that "Tammany Thugs" had stolen the election for
Democratic candidate
Abraham Harawitz: "The polling places of the 4th assembly district...were scenes of the most disgraceful election stealing."In all cases the Tammany election officials were flanked by a collection of gangsters who aided in the intimidation of voters who were being deprived of their votes. The Socialist [poll] watchers who made protests over the procedure were brutalized. The voters were threatened, brow-beaten, and flustered. Notorious gangsters, gunmen, and pimps were on hand in full force taking orders from the Tammany leaders...."In one polling place a watcher had a gun poked into his ribs and a second later a thug struck him from behind, laying him out; in another polling place a gangster threw tear powder into the eyes of the two Socialist watchers just as the voting machine was being opened for recording of the votes; Socialist watchers were refused the right to note the results tabulated on the machines. Many were ejected and threatened." Following his defeat, Panken ran again as a Socialist candidate for Congress in
1930 and for
Chief Judge in
1932. ,
Baruch Charney Vladeck, and
Fiorello LaGuardia.
Standing: Joseph Baskin,
David Dubinsky, Judge
Jacob Panken, and Judge
Charles Solomon. During the bitter internal party fight that swept the Socialist Party during the second half of the 1930s, Panken was a committed adherent of the so-called "
Old Guard faction" headed by
Louis Waldman and James Oneal. In 1936, he exited the SPA along with his co-thinkers to help found the
Social Democratic Federation. , February 13, 1954 Panken was one of the most outspoken
anti-Zionists on the Jewish left. As such, he was a key supporter of the
Jewish Newsletter, published by
William Zukerman, and also of the
American Council for Judaism. When
Harry Rogoff of
The Jewish Daily Forward defended the
Zionism of editor-in-chief
Abraham Cahan, Panken responded as follows: In 1934, he was appointed to the
Domestic Relations Court by Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia and served until his retirement in 1955. ==Death and legacy==