Beba Idelson (; 14 October 1895 – 5 December 1975) was a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activist and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i politician.

Biography

Beba Idelson (née Trakhtenbereg) was born in Ekaterinoslav in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) in 1895. When she was eight, her mother died giving birth to her thirteenth child and at the age of fourteen she lost her father, Yitzhak.Beba Idelson
/ref> Along with her grandmother and brother, she helped to support the family. In 1912, she graduated from high school, and went on to study Economics and Social Sciences at the

Kharkiv University The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (), also known as Kharkiv National University or Karazin University, is a public university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin, becoming the second old ...

. In 1913, shaken by the Beilis trial, she became interested in Zionism and in 1915 she joined the “Youth of Zion” (later to be merged into

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

). In 1917, she joined the Zionist Socialist Party and married Yisrael Idelson (later

Yisrael Bar-Yehuda Yisrael Bar-Yehuda (; 15 November 1895 – 15 May 1965) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. Biography Born Yisrael Idelson in Konotop, in the Chernigov Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Sumy Oblast, Ukraine) in 1895, Bar ...

), a senior party member. For their Zionist activism, they were banished to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. That year she also gave birth to the couple's only daughter, Rebecca. In 1924, thanks to an intercession by

Maxim Gorki Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an auth ...

's wife, their banishment was converted to deportation to

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

Zionist and political activism

Between 1924 and 1926, Idelson was active in the World Union of Socialist Zionists in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and in 1926 they immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. Yisrael worked for the party and became secretary of the workers of

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

while Beba worked in agriculture. She later divorced Idelson and married Haim Halperin. From 1927 to 1928 she worked as a statistician for the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

and then joined the

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda () was the name used by a series of List of political parties in Israel, political parties in Israel. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period of Mandatory Pales ...

party. In 1930 she became secretary of the “Council of Working Women” and led several women's organizations. She was a delegate to the Jewish National Council and contacted many socialist leaders, arguably including

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in October 1937. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Idelson and Hadassah Samuel from the

Women's International Zionist Organization The Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO; ') is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. Histor ...

were the prime movers behind the volunteering of Jewish women from the

Yishuv The Yishuv (), HaYishuv Ha'ivri (), or HaYishuv HaYehudi Be'Eretz Yisra'el () was the community of Jews residing in Palestine prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The term came into use in the 1880s, when there were about 2 ...

to the

British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. A total of 3,200 women served in the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...

, and 789 in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak ...

Political career

After the State of Israel was established in 1948, Idelson was a member of the

Provisional State Council The Provisional State Council (, ''Moetzet HaMedina HaZmanit'') was the temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset in January 1949. It took the place of His Majesty's Privy Council, ...

and headed the Flag and Emblem Committee, which chose the

Emblem of Israel The emblem of Israel () depicts a temple menorah surrounded by an olive branch on each side, with the word ''Israel'' written in Hebrew language, Hebrew () below it. While it is commonly displayed in Tekhelet in Judaism, blue and white, the embl ...

. In 1949-1965, Idelson was elected to the first five

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

s for

Mapai Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...

. She was the first woman to serve as a member of the

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee () is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the ...

and was a member also of the Constitution, Law and Justice, Housing and wasand Labor Committees. She promoted social reforms and women's equality and opposed the religious coercion. She also supported applying the mandatory draft to the IDF to women as well as men. In 1960, she was chairwoman of the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

's ninth Committee and was its member until 1965. From 1968 to 1975, Idelson was chairwoman of the World Movement of Pioneer Women. She retired from the Council of Working Women in 1974 and died in 1975.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Idelson, Beba 1895 births 1975 deaths Politicians from Dnipro Women members of the Knesset Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Israeli feminists Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish feminists Jewish socialists Jews from the Russian Empire Jewish Ukrainian politicians Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli women's rights activists Mapai politicians Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery 20th-century Israeli women politicians Immigrants of the Fourth Aliyah First women legislators

Biography

Zionist and political activism

Political career

See also

References

External links