Yeshayahu Press (; March 2, 1874 – June 11, 1955) was a prominent researcher of the

land of 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 definition ...

and educator, who was born and lived most of his life in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He wrote the first volumes of the four-volume ''Topographical-Historical Encyclopedia of the Land of Israel'' (1947/48-1954/55)."Press, Yeshayahu"
(in Hebrew).

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

Museum, ''The Family Album'' website. Accessed 6 Feb 2024. During Ottoman and then

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rule in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, Press served as the first Secretary of the (Jewish) , helped establish the

Jewish Palestine Exploration Society The Israel Exploration Society (''IES'') (Hebrew:החברה לחקירת ארץ ישראל ועתיקותיה – Hakhevra Lekhakirat Eretz Yisrael Va'atikoteha), originally the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society, is a society devoted to histor ...

,"Yeshayahu Press has Gone the Way of the World"
(in Hebrew),

Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...

(12 June 1955) at Israel National Library website. Revisited Feb 2024. taught and worked as a school principal, served as President of the Bnei Brit Chamber and helped create a Bnei Brit fund for building houses, was among the founders of the Zichron Moshe neighbourhood in Jerusalem, and so forth. With the 1948 founding of the modern state of

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 ...

, Press was among the driving force behind the establishment of the "

Government Naming Committee Government Naming Committee (, sometimes referred as National Naming Committee or Government Names Committee) is a public committee appointed by the Government of Israel, which deals with the designation of names for communities and other points ...

" in 1949. Yeshayahu Press was the son of , a linguist and newspaper man who lived in Jerusalem and contributed to the

revival of the Hebrew language The revival of the Hebrew language took place in Europe and the Levant region toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, through which the language's usage changed from purely the sacred language of Judaism to a spoken and wr ...

, and Sarah, a teacher at the girls' school founded by

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

. Tidhar, David (1947)
"Haim Press"; "Sarah Press"
In '' Entsiklopedyah le-halutse ha-yishuv u-vonav'', lit. 'Encyclopedia of the pioneers and builders of 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 ...

' (in Hebrew, with in-built Google Translate option). Vol. 1, p. 287. Estate of David Tidhar and

Touro College Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac a ...

Libraries. Accessed 6 Feb 2024. Press was the author of several books, including the travel guide "The Book of Travels in Eretz Israel and Southern Syria", published in Hebrew and German in 1921.

Legacy

Moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

Givat Yeshayahu and a Jerusalem street are named after him.

References

Israeli geographers Jews from Ottoman Palestine 1874 births 1955 deaths Educators from Jerusalem {{geographer-stub