Dov Gazit
Encyclopedia
Dov Gazit came to Israel
from Baku
, Azerbaijan
by way of the Russian Gulag
s. He joined the Haganah
, and rose to chief-commander of the IAF (Israeli Air Force
) Technical School in Haifa
.
While serving in Africa, he acquired a lion
cub, which became the first lion
in Dr. Aharon Shulov
's Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.
, Azerbaijan
) was born Borys (shortened form of the Russian name Borislav) Reuvenovich/Romanovich Grobshtein (Russian: Борйс Рувинович/Романович Гробштин), was the brother of Solomon Grobshtein
, and one of three sons of Reuven (Roman) Grobshtein, an engineer in the Baku
oil fields.
He was 8 years old (1916), when his father was murdered during the Armenia
n-Tatar uprisings.
At age 18, Borys went to study at the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
(Russian: Санкт-Петербургский Технологический Институт (Технологический Университет), where became a member of a Zionist student group.
The NKVD
crashed a Zionist group meeting, and arrested all the participants, including Borys, who was convicted and sent to a Gulag
in Siberia
for three years.
After many applications for release, he was allowed to leave the Soviet Union and go to Palestine, without permission to see his family, and nor to ever return to the Soviet Union.
Borys worked in the fields around Ra'anana
, but later moved to Jerusalem, to the Zikhron Moshe
neighbourhood, next door to Ephraim Katzir
, a friend of Borys', and later to become the President of Israel.
After arriving in Palestine, Borys changed his name to Dov (Hebrew: דוב,lit: bear) Gazit (Hebrew: גָזִית, lit: huge stone. dressed stone, ashlar, as used in construction of Solomon's Temple
).
, by the Israeli Air Service (Hebrew: שירות האוויר, lit: Sherut Avir
, where he worked for British Airways
. The two stayed in Eritrea
for more than three years, constructing an airbase for the British. Their mandate was not only to build the airbase, but to learn how to develop and to manage the infrastructure which would be so important in sustaining the new state of Israel
.
During his term of service in Africa, Dov also studied aeronautical engineering, and graduated from the British University in Egypt
, in Cairo
.
Dov served in the Haganah
. He spent much of his time in Jerusalem, walking patrols through the streets of Jewish sections.
Dov Gazit was sent to Czechoslovakia
, as part of the group that acquired and delivered the first aircraft, Messerschmidt
s and Spitfire
s, for the newly formed Israeli air force.
After Israel
declared independence, Dov served as chief-commander of the IAF (Israeli Air Force
) Technical School in Haifa
. After his term, he continued to serve in additional management/administration positions at the school, as a Civilian Employee, with the rank equal to `Sgan Aluf` or 'Sa'al' (Lieutenant Colonel).
Dr. Aaron Schulow (Aharon Shulov
, who, like Dov Gazit, had also come to Palestine
after being accused and jailed for Jewish Crimes in his native Russia (Dr. Shulov established the faculty of Zoology
in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
), and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, asked Dov to find and send back to Jerusalem and African lion
.
Dov found a lion
cub for sale in the market. He took the Zoo's new acquisition back to his, where he and Yeri cared for the cub for several months. With the lion
cub growing too large to keep in their quarters, he managed to get the cat to Alexandria, and on a boat to Palestine
. The lion
cub, the first lion in the Dr. Shulov's new zoo, was renamed Yehudah (Lion of Judah
).
Dr. Aharon Shulov
wrote a history of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, and on pages 47–51, he detailed Dov Gazit's adventures in acquiring Fifi, and getting the cub from Africa to Jerusalem.
He is buried in the cemetery at Hof haCarmel, on the slope of Mount Carmel
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
from Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
by way of the Russian Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
s. He joined the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, and rose to chief-commander of the IAF (Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
) Technical School in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
.
While serving in Africa, he acquired a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
cub, which became the first lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
in Dr. Aharon Shulov
Aharon Shulov
Professor Aharon Shulov was an Israeli entomologist and the founder of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.-Biography:...
's Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.
Early life
Dov Gazit (Hebrew: דב גזית, Born: June 17, 1908, in BakuBaku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
) was born Borys (shortened form of the Russian name Borislav) Reuvenovich/Romanovich Grobshtein (Russian: Борйс Рувинович/Романович Гробштин), was the brother of Solomon Grobshtein
Solomon Grobshtein
Solomon R. Grobshtein was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. He became a prominent Soviet scientist, and one of the founders and organizers of the Azeri oil industry....
, and one of three sons of Reuven (Roman) Grobshtein, an engineer in the Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
oil fields.
He was 8 years old (1916), when his father was murdered during the Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n-Tatar uprisings.
At age 18, Borys went to study at the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology
Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia , it currently trains around 5000 students.-History:...
(Russian: Санкт-Петербургский Технологический Институт (Технологический Университет), where became a member of a Zionist student group.
The NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
crashed a Zionist group meeting, and arrested all the participants, including Borys, who was convicted and sent to a Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
for three years.
After many applications for release, he was allowed to leave the Soviet Union and go to Palestine, without permission to see his family, and nor to ever return to the Soviet Union.
Borys worked in the fields around Ra'anana
Ra'anana
Ra'anana is a city in the heart of the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel with a population of 68,300, . Ra'anana is bordered by Kfar Sava on the east and Herzliya on the southwest...
, but later moved to Jerusalem, to the Zikhron Moshe
Zikhron Moshe
Zikhron Moshe is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel.Zikhron Moshe was founded in 1905. It is located between Meah Shearim and Geulah. The first inhabitants were secular teachers. It was one of several neighborhoods in Jerusalem named for Sir Moses Montefiore.The neighborhood grew up...
neighbourhood, next door to Ephraim Katzir
Ephraim Katzir
Ephraim Katzir was an Israeli biophysicist and former Israeli Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978.-Biography:...
, a friend of Borys', and later to become the President of Israel.
After arriving in Palestine, Borys changed his name to Dov (Hebrew: דוב,lit: bear) Gazit (Hebrew: גָזִית, lit: huge stone. dressed stone, ashlar, as used in construction of Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....
).
Military service
While the British fight the German and Italian armies in the Arab Desert, Dov, and his friend, Yeri (Yerachmiel) Shrem, were sent to EritreaEritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, by the Israeli Air Service (Hebrew: שירות האוויר, lit: Sherut Avir
Sherut Avir
The Sherut Avir was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force.-Founding:The Sherut Avir was founded in November 1947, just two weeks prior to the passing of the 1947 UN Partition Plan which proposed the division of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state.It was at...
, where he worked for British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
. The two stayed in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
for more than three years, constructing an airbase for the British. Their mandate was not only to build the airbase, but to learn how to develop and to manage the infrastructure which would be so important in sustaining the new state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
During his term of service in Africa, Dov also studied aeronautical engineering, and graduated from the British University in Egypt
British University in Egypt
The British University in Egypt is a private university in El Sherouk, Greater Cairo, Egypt. Founded in September 2005, the university campus covers approximately 40 acres of land. The available space within the buildings is 27000 m².-Faculties:...
, in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Dov served in the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
. He spent much of his time in Jerusalem, walking patrols through the streets of Jewish sections.
Dov Gazit was sent to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, as part of the group that acquired and delivered the first aircraft, Messerschmidt
Messerschmidt
*For the Danish politician - see Morten Messerschmidt*For the German physician and explorer of Siberia - see Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt*For the German aircraft designer and manufacturer - see Willy Messerschmitt...
s and Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s, for the newly formed Israeli air force.
After Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
declared independence, Dov served as chief-commander of the IAF (Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
) Technical School in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. After his term, he continued to serve in additional management/administration positions at the school, as a Civilian Employee, with the rank equal to `Sgan Aluf` or 'Sa'al' (Lieutenant Colonel).
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
While stationed in Eritrea with his compatriot, Yeri (Yerachmiel) Shrem, Dov obtained a very important addition for the little Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, now called the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens).Dr. Aaron Schulow (Aharon Shulov
Aharon Shulov
Professor Aharon Shulov was an Israeli entomologist and the founder of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.-Biography:...
, who, like Dov Gazit, had also come to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
after being accused and jailed for Jewish Crimes in his native Russia (Dr. Shulov established the faculty of Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
in 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...
), and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, asked Dov to find and send back to Jerusalem and African lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
.
Dov found a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
cub for sale in the market. He took the Zoo's new acquisition back to his, where he and Yeri cared for the cub for several months. With the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
cub growing too large to keep in their quarters, he managed to get the cat to Alexandria, and on a boat to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. The lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
cub, the first lion in the Dr. Shulov's new zoo, was renamed Yehudah (Lion of Judah
Lion of Judah
The Lion of Judah was the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible .-Lion of Judah and Judaism:...
).
Dr. Aharon Shulov
Aharon Shulov
Professor Aharon Shulov was an Israeli entomologist and the founder of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.-Biography:...
wrote a history of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, and on pages 47–51, he detailed Dov Gazit's adventures in acquiring Fifi, and getting the cub from Africa to Jerusalem.
After the Military
Dov retired from the Air Force Technical School, and died in 1986, at the age of 78.He is buried in the cemetery at Hof haCarmel, on the slope of Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...
.