Ari Jabotinsky
Encyclopedia
Eri Jabotinsky was a Revisionist Zionist
activist, Israel
i politician and academic. He was the son of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the founder of the opposition movement within Zionism
at the time, and later served in the Knesset between 1949 and 1951, as a member of the opposition Herut
party of Menachem Begin
. Following his break with the party, he pursued his academic career.
, the Jabotinsky family made aliyah
to Mandate Palestine in 1919. Following the arrest of his father the following year, he left the country and moved to France
, where he attended high school in Paris
, and later earned a degree in electrical engineering. Between 1933 and 1935 he worked as an engineer in an aircraft factory. In 1935 he returned to Palestine, and worked as an engineer at the Naharayim
power station in the Jordan Valley
.
A long-term member of Revisionism's Betar
youth movement, he became one of its representative leaders in 1936, and joined its worldwide board two years later. With Betar and the party's military wing, Irgun
, he helped coordinate illegal Jewish immigration into Palestine; he was temporarily arrested by the British authorities in 1940, and upon his release he moved to the United States
, where his father died suddenly about the same time. There, together with Hillel Kook
's 'Bergsen Boys', Aryeh Ben-Eliezer
, Shmuel Merlin
and Yitzhak Ben-Ami, they founded the Emergency Committee to Save European Jewry, among others. He briefly returned to Palestine, but was again arrested by the British and expelled for illegal activities in 1944.
Following Israel's independence, he returned in 1948, and was elected to the first Knesset
the following year, as a member of the Herut
party's list of candidates. On 20 February 1951 however, Jabotinsky and Hillel Kook left Herut, and sat as independents for the rest of the term, although the move was not recognised by the house committee; this followed on-going disagreements over the party’s direction and its new leadership by Menachem Begin
.
After leaving the Knesset, he was awarded a PhD in mathematics in 1957 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. He also lectured on electricity theory at the Technion between 1955 and his death in 1969.
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
activist, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician and academic. He was the son of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the founder of the opposition movement within Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
at the time, and later served in the Knesset between 1949 and 1951, as a member of the opposition Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
party of Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
. Following his break with the party, he pursued his academic career.
Biography
Born in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, the Jabotinsky family made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Mandate Palestine in 1919. Following the arrest of his father the following year, he left the country and moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he attended high school in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and later earned a degree in electrical engineering. Between 1933 and 1935 he worked as an engineer in an aircraft factory. In 1935 he returned to Palestine, and worked as an engineer at the Naharayim
Naharayim
Naharayim is a site on the border between Israel and Jordan where an hydroelectric power-plant was established in 1930. The Yarmuk River flows into the Jordan River at Naharayim. The plant, established by Pinchas Rutenberg, produced much of the energy consumed in the British Mandate of Palestine...
power station in the Jordan Valley
Jordan Valley (Middle East)
The Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. It is 120 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, where it runs from Lake Tiberias in the north to northern Dead Sea in the south. It runs for an additional 155 kilometer south of the Dead Sea to Aqaba, an area also known as Wadi...
.
A long-term member of Revisionism's Betar
Betar
The Betar Movement is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir Jabotinsky. It has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group...
youth movement, he became one of its representative leaders in 1936, and joined its worldwide board two years later. With Betar and the party's military wing, Irgun
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
, he helped coordinate illegal Jewish immigration into Palestine; he was temporarily arrested by the British authorities in 1940, and upon his release he moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where his father died suddenly about the same time. There, together with Hillel Kook
Hillel Kook
Hillel Kook , also known as Peter Bergson , was a Revisionist Zionist activist, politician, and prominent member of the Irgun.-Early life:...
's 'Bergsen Boys', Aryeh Ben-Eliezer
Aryeh Ben-Eliezer
Aryeh Ben-Eliezer was a Revisionist Zionist leader, Irgun member and Israeli politician.-Biography:Ben-Eliezer was born in 1913 in Vilnius in the Russian Empire . His family immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1920, and he attended high schools in Tel Aviv...
, Shmuel Merlin
Shmuel Merlin
Shmuel Merlin was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Irgun member and Israeli politician.-Biography:Merlin was born in Kishinev in the Russian Empire , where he attended high school and joined the Betar movement. From 1933 to 1938 he was Chief Secretary of the Executive of the World Union of...
and Yitzhak Ben-Ami, they founded the Emergency Committee to Save European Jewry, among others. He briefly returned to Palestine, but was again arrested by the British and expelled for illegal activities in 1944.
Following Israel's independence, he returned in 1948, and was elected to the first Knesset
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...
the following year, as a member of the Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
party's list of candidates. On 20 February 1951 however, Jabotinsky and Hillel Kook left Herut, and sat as independents for the rest of the term, although the move was not recognised by the house committee; this followed on-going disagreements over the party’s direction and its new leadership by Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
.
After leaving the Knesset, he was awarded a PhD in mathematics in 1957 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. He also lectured on electricity theory at the Technion between 1955 and his death in 1969.