PikiWiki_Israel_6052_Members_of_the_kibutz_as_British_Soldiers

Yitzhak Ben-Aharon ( he, יצחק בן אהרון;17 July 1906 – 19 May 2006) was an Israeli left-wing politician. He was a

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

member from the first to the fifth Knessets and in the seventh and eighth, and a former

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

and

General secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

. The philosopher Yeshayahu Ben-Aharon is his son.

Biography

Early life and career

Yitzhak Nussenbaum (later Ben-Aharon) was born in the

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

region of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

). He attended high school in Cernăuţi and studied at the Advanced School for Political Science in Berlin. He became a leader in

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the gro ...

in Romania, and in 1928 he emigrated to Mandate Palestine. In 1933, he became a member of

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Givat Haim and after the 1952 split in the Kibbutz Movement, he joined the Mapam-affiliated

Givat Haim (Meuhad) Givat Haim (Meuhad) (, lit. ''Haim Hill (United)'') is a kibbutz near Hadera in Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction Hefer Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of . History It was formed in 1952 by an ideological split in kibbutz ...

, where he remained a member for the rest of his life. From 1932–38, he was Secretary of the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Workers' Council. In the summer of 1935, he served for a few months as the envoy for the Halutz organization in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

until he was expelled by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. From 1938–39, he was Secretary of

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

. In 1940, he enlisted in the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

to fight against Nazi Germany in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, where he reached the rank of

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. He was captured in the Greek front in 1941, along with other soldiers from the

Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the ...

, until they were released in 1945.

Political career

After the war, he joined

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

and from 1948 became one of its leaders. After the split in Mapam in 1954, he became one of the leaders of a split that formed the

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period ...

party. He was elected to the Knesset seven times, and member of several parliamentary committees. From 1958 to 1962 he served as Minister of Transport, but resigned over what he called the government's anti-labour socioeconomic policy. In 1964 he resigned from the Knesset to allow Halil-Salim Jabara, one of Ahdut HaAvoda's Arab members, to take his place. Sabri Jiryis, ''The Arabs in Israel,'' Monthly Review Press, London and New York 1976 p.178. From 1969– to 1973 he was General-Secretary of the

. In 1977 he retired from active political life, but continued to express critical, pro-

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

views for the rest of his life. He was the author of several books and articles. On 19 May 2006, he died in his kibbutz. Ben-Aharon donated his body to science, so there was no burial.

Awards and recognition

In 1995, Ben-Aharon was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for his special contribution to society and the State of Israel. Upon learning of Ben-Aharon's death,

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The po ...

Moshe Katzav Moshe Katsav ( he, מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב; born 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician who was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its cabine ...

stated that: "Israel has lost one of its builders and shapers of its social character."

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

said that "the State of Israel has lost one of its giants, a true zionist and honest ideologue, who during tens of years did not hesitate to express his unique and penetrating views." Israel's Vice Prime Minister, Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galilee,

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

said that: "One of the spiritual fathers of the Israeli labour movement has left us." The

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

, Amir Peretz, said: "Today, one the giants of the State of Israel has left us. If there is a man that can be said to have been one of the titans of the generation, it is Yitzhak Ben-Aharon."

References

External links