Fayge Ilanit (née Hindes) (; 7 February 1909 – 14 July 2002) 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. She was a granddaughter of

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Shimon Shkop and mother of IDF soldier Uri Ilan. Uri Ilan grave Gan Shmuel

Biography

Fayge Ilanit was born Fayge Hindes in

Brańsk Brańsk (Podlachian language: ''Бранськ, Branśk'', , ) is a town in eastern Poland. It is situated within Podlaskie Voivodeship (province). Etymology The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River ...

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

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) in 1909 to Sharaga Hindes and Hannah Shkop (daughter of Rabbi Shimon Shkop). Fayge moved with her family to

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 1915 but returned to Poland in 1922. After her mother's death and her father's remarriage, Fayge then lived with her grandfather. In 1928, Fayge joined

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 ...

and, in 1929, she immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. In 1933, Fayge joined

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Gan Shmuel. She then married Shlomo Ilan and, in 1935, she gave birth to her firstborn child, Uri Ilan. She and her husband had three other children: Roni, Hannah, and Shimon. Fayge was active in the “Women’s Labor Council” and was a member of the secretariat of the “Women’s Labor Council”. She was also a member of the central institutions of

Mapam File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans rect 721 86 995 243 ...

and was active in the League for Friendly Relations with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Fayge was also a member of the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

. Fayge was elected to the first Knesset for Mapam and was a member of the House and Education and Culture Committees. She opposed the

Palestine Communist Party The Palestine Communist Party (, ''Palestinische Komunistische Partei'', abbreviated PKP; ) was a political party in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine formed in 1923 through the merger of the Palestinian Communist Party (192 ...

and rejected claims of anti-religious coercion in the immigrant camps. She became blind in her old age and died in 2002.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilanit, Fayge 1909 births 2002 deaths Israeli communists Women members of the Knesset Mapam politicians Politicians from Białystok Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jewish socialists Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) 20th-century Israeli women politicians People from Gan Shmuel Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah Jewish women politicians First women legislators