Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
Encyclopedia
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist
leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel
.
in the Russian Empire
(today in Ukraine
), Ben-Zvi was the eldest son of Zvi Shimshelevich, who later took the name Shimshi. Shimshi was a leading Zionist activist and one of the organizers of the first Zionist Congress in 1897. In 1952, he was honored by the first Israeli Knesset
with the title "Father of the State of Israel."
Ben-Zvi was active in the Jewish self-defense units organized in Ukraine to defend Jews during the pogrom
s of 1905, and joined the Poale Zion
Zionist political party. He was a representative in the Zionist Congress of 1907, and it was there that he first met Israel Shochat
. Ben-Zvi emigrated to Palestine
that same year, and settled in Jaffa
. "Bar-Giora
", the clandestine precursor to Hashomer
, was created in his apartment in 1907. In 1909, he organized the Gymnasia Rehavia
high school in Jerusalem together with Rachel Yanait
.
Following his studies at Galatasaray High School in Constantinople
, from 1912 to 1914 Ben-Zvi studied law at Istanbul University
, together with the future Israel
i prime minister David Ben-Gurion
. They returned to Palestine in August 1914, but were expelled by the Ottoman
authorities in 1915. The two of them moved to New York City, where they engaged in Zionist activities and founded the HeHalutz (Pioneer) movement there. Together, they also wrote the Yiddish book The Land of Israel Past and Present to promote the Zionist cause among American Jewry.
Upon returning to Palestine in 1918, Ben-Zvi married Yanait. They had two sons: Amram and Eli. Eli died in Arab-Israeli War
, defending his kibbutz
, Beit Keshet
.
together with Ben-Gurion. In 1919, he helped found the Ahdut HaAvoda
party, and became increasingly active in the Haganah
. He was later elected to the Jerusalem City Council and president of the National Council, the shadow government of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine. According to a book published in 1985, Ben-Zvi allegedly ordered the 1924 political assassination of Jacob Israël de Haan
, who had turned into an anti-Zionist.
for the Mapai
party. He was elected
President of Israel on 8 December 1952, assumed office on 16 December 1952, and continued to serve in such position until his death.
Ben-Zvi believed that the president should set an example for the public and his home should reflect the austerity of the times. For over 26 years, he and his family lived in a wooden hut in the Rehavia
neighborhood of Jerusalem. The State of Israel took interest in the adjacent house, built and owned by Nissim and Esther Valero, and purchased it, after Nissim's death, to provide additional space for the President's residence. Two larger wooden structures in the yard were used for official receptions.
In 2005, he was voted the 181st-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Ben-Zvi's photo appears on 100 NIS
bills. Many streets and boulevards in Israel are named for him. In 2008, Ben-Zvi's wooden hut was moved to Kibbutz Beit Keshet, which his son helped to found, and the interior was restored with its original furnishings. The Valero
house in Rehavia
neighborhood was designated a historic building protected by law under municipal plan 2097 for the preservation of historic sites.
was founded, and the intention to re-establish a Jewish state was announced. Shimshi was the only organizer of the first Zionist Congress to live to see the birth of the modern State of Israel in 1948. On 10 December 1952, Zvi Shimshi was honored by the first Israeli Knesset
(parliament) with the title, "Father of the State of Israel."
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's brother was the well know Jewish author, Aharon Ruveny, and his brother-in-law was the Israeli archaeologist, Prof. Benjamin Mazar
.
Labor Zionism
Labor Zionism can be described as the major stream of the left wing of the Zionist movement. It was, for many years, the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizational structure...
leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
.
Biography
Born in PoltavaPoltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(today in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), Ben-Zvi was the eldest son of Zvi Shimshelevich, who later took the name Shimshi. Shimshi was a leading Zionist activist and one of the organizers of the first Zionist Congress in 1897. In 1952, he was honored by the first Israeli Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
with the title "Father of the State of Israel."
Ben-Zvi was active in the Jewish self-defense units organized in Ukraine to defend Jews during the pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s of 1905, and joined the Poale Zion
Poale Zion
Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...
Zionist political party. He was a representative in the Zionist Congress of 1907, and it was there that he first met Israel Shochat
Israel Shochat
Israel Shochat was a founder of and a key figure in "Bar-Giora" and Hashomer, one of the precursors of the IDF. He was married to Manya Shochat.- Biography :...
. Ben-Zvi emigrated 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....
that same year, and settled in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. "Bar-Giora
Bar-Giora
Bar-Giora was a Jewish self-defense organization of the Second Aliyah, the precursor of Hashomer.- History :On September 28, 1907, a group of Poalei Zion members gathered at Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's unfurnished apartment in Jaffa apartment formed Bar-Giora, a Jewish self-defense organization named for...
", the clandestine precursor to Hashomer
Hashomer
Hashomer was a Jewish defense organization in Palestine founded out of Bar-Giora in April 1909. It ceased to operate after the founding of the Haganah in 1920. The purpose of Hashomer was to provide guard services for Jewish settlements in the Yishuv, freeing Jewish communities from dependence...
, was created in his apartment in 1907. In 1909, he organized the Gymnasia Rehavia
Gymnasia Rehavia
Gymnasia Rehavia is a high school in the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel.-History:Gymnasia Rehavia was the country’s second modern high school, after Gymnasia Herzliya in Tel Aviv. The school was first established in Jerusalem's Bukharan Quarter in 1909. The building on Keren Kayemet...
high school in Jerusalem together with Rachel Yanait
Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi
Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi was an Israeli author and educator, and a leading Labor Zionist. Ben-Zvi was the wife of the second President of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.-Biography:...
.
Following his studies at Galatasaray High School in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, from 1912 to 1914 Ben-Zvi studied law at Istanbul University
Istanbul University
Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
, together with the future Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i prime minister David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
. They returned to Palestine in August 1914, but were expelled by the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
authorities in 1915. The two of them moved to New York City, where they engaged in Zionist activities and founded the HeHalutz (Pioneer) movement there. Together, they also wrote the Yiddish book The Land of Israel Past and Present to promote the Zionist cause among American Jewry.
Upon returning to Palestine in 1918, Ben-Zvi married Yanait. They had two sons: Amram and Eli. Eli died in Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, defending his kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
, Beit Keshet
Beit Keshet
Beit Keshet |Bow]]) is a kibbutz in the Lower Galilee, Israel.Founded in 1944, Beit Keshet was established by HaNoar HaOved graduates who were trained at the Kfar Tabor Agricultural School...
.
Political career
Ben-Zvi served in the Jewish LegionJewish Legion
The Jewish Legion was the name for five battalions of Jewish volunteers established as the British Army's 38th through 42nd Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers...
together with Ben-Gurion. In 1919, he helped found the Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....
party, and became increasingly active 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 was later elected to the Jerusalem City Council and president of the National Council, the shadow government of the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine. According to a book published in 1985, Ben-Zvi allegedly ordered the 1924 political assassination of Jacob Israël de Haan
Jacob Israël de Haan
Jacob Israël de Haan was a Dutch Jewish literary writer and journalist who was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah for his anti-Zionist political activities and contacts with Arab leaders. He is believed to be the first victim of Zionist political violence...
, who had turned into an anti-Zionist.
Presidency
When Israel gained its independence, Ben-Zvi was among the signers of its Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. He served in the First and Second KnessetKnesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
for the Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
party. He was elected
Israeli presidential election, 1952
An election to choose the second President of Israel was held in the Knesset on 8 December 1952 following the death of the Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann on 9 November...
President of Israel on 8 December 1952, assumed office on 16 December 1952, and continued to serve in such position until his death.
Ben-Zvi believed that the president should set an example for the public and his home should reflect the austerity of the times. For over 26 years, he and his family lived in a wooden hut in the Rehavia
Rehavia
Rehavia is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya.-History:Rehavia was established on a large plot of land purchased in 1921 from the Greek Orthodox Church by the Palestine Land Development Company . The area was known at the time as Ginzaria, a native...
neighborhood of Jerusalem. The State of Israel took interest in the adjacent house, built and owned by Nissim and Esther Valero, and purchased it, after Nissim's death, to provide additional space for the President's residence. Two larger wooden structures in the yard were used for official receptions.
Research
In 1948, Ben-Zvi headed the Institute for the Study of Oriental Jewish Communities in the Middle East, later named the Ben-Zvi Institute (Yad Ben-Zvi) in his honor. The Ben-Zvi Institute occupies Nissim Valero's house. His main field of research was the Jewish communities and sects of Asia and Africa, including the Samaritans and Karaites.Commemoration and awards
- In 1953, Ben-Zvi was awarded the Bialik PrizeBialik PrizeThe Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...
for Jewish thought.
In 2005, he was voted the 181st-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Ben-Zvi's photo appears on 100 NIS
Israeli new sheqel
The Israeli New Shekel is the currency of the State of Israel. The shekel is divided into 100 agorot...
bills. Many streets and boulevards in Israel are named for him. In 2008, Ben-Zvi's wooden hut was moved to Kibbutz Beit Keshet, which his son helped to found, and the interior was restored with its original furnishings. The Valero
Valero
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power based in San Antonio, Texas, United States...
house in Rehavia
Rehavia
Rehavia is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya.-History:Rehavia was established on a large plot of land purchased in 1921 from the Greek Orthodox Church by the Palestine Land Development Company . The area was known at the time as Ginzaria, a native...
neighborhood was designated a historic building protected by law under municipal plan 2097 for the preservation of historic sites.
Family
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's father, Zvi Shimshi (Shimshelevitz), was a leading Zionist activist in the 19th century. A member of the B'ne Moshe and Hoveve Zion movements in Ukraine, he was one of the organizers with Dr. Theodore Herzl of the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in the fall of 1897. At this Congress, the World Zionist OrganizationWorld Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
was founded, and the intention to re-establish a Jewish state was announced. Shimshi was the only organizer of the first Zionist Congress to live to see the birth of the modern State of Israel in 1948. On 10 December 1952, Zvi Shimshi was honored by the first Israeli Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
(parliament) with the title, "Father of the State of Israel."
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's brother was the well know Jewish author, Aharon Ruveny, and his brother-in-law was the Israeli archaeologist, Prof. Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links...
.
External links
- Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs