Moshe Sharett (; born Moshe Chertok (); 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was the second

prime minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

and the country’s first

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. He signed the

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

and was a principal negotiator in the cease-fire agreements that concluded the Israeli War of Independence. Beginning in 1933, he headed the political department of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

. He also founded the

Jewish Brigade The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the World War II, Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv, Y ...

, which fought with 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 ...

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 ...

. A member of

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 ...

, Sharett's term was both preceded and succeeded by the premiership of

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

Biography

Moshe Sharett was born in

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

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 ...

(today in

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 ...

) to the family of and Fanya née Lev (). In 1906 the immigrated to Ottoman Palestine. For two years, 1906–1907, the family lived in a rented house in the village of Ein-Sinya, north of

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

. In 1910 his family moved to

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, then became one of the founding families of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He graduated from the first class of the

Herzliya Hebrew High School The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium (, also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High School) is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel, whose faculty and alumni includes many people influential in t ...

, even studying music at the

Shulamit Conservatory The Ron Shulamit Conservatory is a music conservatory in Israel. History Music education developed in Israel largely due to the pioneering efforts of (1873–1912), an opera singer trained in Berlin and Arthur Ruppin's first wife, who establish ...

. He then went to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

to study law at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

, the same university at which

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963; born Izaak Shimshelevich) was a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving president of Israel. He was 1952 Israeli presidential elec ...

and

studied. However, his time there was cut short due to the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He served a commission as First Lieutenant in the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

, working as an interpreter. In 1922, Sharett married Tzippora Meirov, with whom he had two sons, Ya'akov and Haim, and a daughter, Yael.

Political career

After the war, he worked as an Arab affairs and land purchase agent for the Assembly of Representatives 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 ...

. He also became a member of Ahdut Ha'Avoda, and later of

.Profile
sharett.org. Accessed 6 November 2022. In 1922, he attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, and worked for the British Poale Zion and actively edited the ''Workers of Zion''. One of the people he met while in London was

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

. He then worked on the ''

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 ...

'' newspaper from 1925 until 1931. In 1931, after returning 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 ...

, he became the secretary of the

's political department. After the assassination of

Haim Arlosoroff Haim Arlosoroff (23 February 1899 – 16 June 1933; also known as Chaim Arlozorov; ) was a Socialist Zionist leader of the Yishuv during the British Mandate for Palestine, prior to the establishment of Israel, and head of the Political D ...

in 1933 he became its head. During

, via his wife Zipporah, Sharett became embroiled in the question of emigration of refugee Jews stranded in Europe and the East. Some Polish refugees, children with and without parents, were deported to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

with

Soviet 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 ...

agreement. The success of these negotiations and others was a hallmark of Sharett's more cerebral approach to practical problems. He met with Tel Aviv-bound Hungarian Jewish refugee representative

Joel Brand Joel Brand (; 25 April 1906 – 13 July 1964) was a member of the Budapest Aid and Rescue Committee (''Va'adat ha-Ezra ve-ha-Hatzala be-Budapest'' or ''Va'ada''), an underground Zionist group in Budapest, Hungary, that smuggled Jews out of Ger ...

, fresh off the plane from

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Yishuv leadership mistrusted Brand, and the British thought him a criminal. Sharett's response was to hand the self-appointed liberator over to the British authorities, who drove Brand to prison in Egypt. Sharett's

General Zionism The General Zionists () were a centrist 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 aim ...

was deeply concerned in making Palestine a commercially viable home land; secondary was the deep emotional concerns of the murder in the

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

, which, by 1942, was in German hands. Like Weizmann, whom he admired, Sharett was a principled

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 ...

, an implacable opponent of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

, and a practical realist, prepared to co-operate fully with the Mandate authorities. Sharett, as Ben-Gurion's ally, denounced

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

's assassination squads on 13 December 1947, accusing them of playing to public feelings. Sharett held the foreign policy post under the Jewish Agency until the establishment of Israel in 1948. Latrun detention camp

Independence

Sharett was one of the signatories of Israel's

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. Sharett was elected to the

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 ...

in the first Israeli election in 1949, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

. On 10 March he was made part of the first cabinet. An

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

was signed with Lebanon that led to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon on 23 March. International negotiations hosted by Britain took place on the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

at Suneh, King Abdullah's residence when Israel's emissaries,

Yigael Yadin Yigael Yadin ( ; 20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981. Biography Yigael Sukenik (later Y ...

and

Walter Eytan Walter Eytan (; 24 July 1910 – 23 May 2001) was an Israeli diplomat. He served as Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1948–1959 and Israeli ambassador to France in 1959–1970. Biography Walter Ettinghausen (later ''Eytan'' ...

signed with

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

. Knowing the Jordanian position on the

Hebron Hills The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron (, ), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, constituting the southern part of the Judaean Mountains, Judean Mountains. The Hebron Hills are located in the southern West Ban ...

, Yadin told Sharett that surrounded by hostile Arab states, Israel had to sign the Transjordan over to Iraq. American Dr. Ralph Bunche, who drafted the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN) treaty for Sharett's office, received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. The final agreement was signed at the "Grande Albergo delle Rose" in

(now the Casino Rodos) on 3 April 1949. Ominous violence lay ahead for the new state, warned Sharett during a debate on 15 June, in which he reminded the Jewish people of their vital interests. A fourth and final agreement was signed with Syria on 17 July; the

1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionism, Zionist forces conquered territory and established ...

had lasted one year and seven months. In the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

that followed,

formed a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

, deliberately excluding

Herut Herut () was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. Some of their policies were compared to those of the Nazi party. Early y ...

and the

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

at Ben-Gurion's behest. As Foreign Minister, Sharett established diplomatic relations with many nations, and helped to bring about Israel's admission to the UN. He continuously held this role until he retired in June 1956, including during his tenure as Prime Minister. Sharett met with

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1952 in an attempt to improve relations with the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, although this was to no avail.

Prime minister

David Ben-Gurion withdrew from politics in 1953, and Sharett was chosen by the party to take his place. During his time as Prime Minister (the fifth and sixth governments of Israel), the Arab-Israeli conflict intensified, particularly with

Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

's Egypt. The

Lavon Affair The Lavon affair was a failed Israeli covert operation, codenamed Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the summer of 1954. As part of a false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to pla ...

, which resulted in the resignation of

Pinhas Lavon Pinhas Lavon (; 12 July 190424 January 1976) was an Israeli politician, minister and labor leader, best known for the Lavon Affair. Early life Lavon was born Pinhas Lubianiker in the small city of Kopychyntsi in the Galicia region of Austria ...

, the

Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, and brought down the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. When Ben-Gurion returned to the cabinet, Lavon was a civilian adviser to Prime Minister Sharett. But when he returned from the war, he was presented with a ''fait accompli''; it had been the convention, but no longer for a career diplomat, to be chosen to become a Minister of Defense, a portfolio once controlled by the Prime Minister's office, now taken by Ben-Gurion.

Lavon Affair

In 1954, three cells of local Jews living in Egypt and one from Israel proper were activated as terror groups to sabotage in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

on the orders of a secretive Unit 131 of

Israeli Intelligence The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (mi ...

. The Israelis welcomed the British presence in Nasser's Egypt. Israel had formed an alliance with the European powers Britain and France. Britain had helped found the State of Israel, encouraged socialism, and fostered a sense of accountable democracy. Israel viewed Britain's historic role in Cairo as a convenient buffer against potential threatening incursions into Israel's borders. A group of Israeli youths were ardent Zionist military trainees, but had little real experience of war. They were influenced by their charismatic leader and handler, Avri Elad. In July 1954 they threw firebombs into the American libraries of Cairo and Alexandria, with little damage, and cinemas in Cairo. But 13 youths were arrested, and then tortured by the Egyptians. Two of the prisoners, including the Israeli agent

Meir Max Bineth Meir Max Bineth (Max Bennett; 27 June 1917 – 21 December 1954) was a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Intelligence. Biography Bineth was born in Szombathely, Hungary, and was the grandson of the scholar Jacob Obermeyer. He grew up in Colo ...

, committed suicide, and three were sent to prison. Sharett soon discovered that operations were being prepared for execution in other Arab capitals. When the news broke over Cairo Radio in summer 1954, Sharett turned to Minister for Labour

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

for help. The Minister of Defense, Pinchas Lavon, and his Head of Military Intelligence, Benjamin Gibli, both declared each other as the responsible party. The real orders were transmitted in code over the radio in the form of housewives cookery recipes. Mapai was split over the crisis. Sharett called for a Public Inquiry led by a Judge of the Supreme Court,

Yitzhak Olshan Yitzhak Olshan (; February 19, 1895 – February 5, 1983) was an Israeli jurist and the second President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1954 to 1965. Biography Olshan was born in Kaunas in the Russian Empire (now Lithuania) in 1895 and immi ...

, and a former Chief of Staff,

Ya'akov Dori Yaakov Dori (; October 8, 1899 – January 22, 1973), born Yaakov Dostrovsky, was the first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was also the President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Biography Yaakov Dostr ...

. Sharett had wanted to appoint

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...

as Minister of Defense but was aware that he was a controversial figure. There were those who defended his stubbornness as a military genius, and those who saw him as divisive. But criticism of Lavon was mounting. Mapai demanded the resignation of Dayan, Gibli and Lavon. Sharett appealed to a sense of fairness from Colonel Nasser, but to no avail. A guilty verdict was entered over the heads of the prisoners in Cairo. On 31 January 1955 two of the defendants,

Moshe Marzouk Moshe Marzouk (; or Musa Lieto Marzuk, ; born 20 December 1926 – 31 January 1955) was an Egyptian Karaite Jew, who was hanged in 1955 for his involvement in a series of bombings in Cairo codenamed '' Operation Suzannah''. Marzouk was born ...

and were hanged, found guilty of spying. Lavon offered to resign from the Defense Ministry on 2 February 1955, the same day Sharett and Golda Meir traveled to

Sde Boker Sde Boker () is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

to see Ben-Gurion. Lavon's resignation was accepted on 18 February. Ben-Gurion agreed to come out of retirement to fill the defense portfolio, and four months later he replaced Sharett as PM, while Sharett stayed as Foreign Minister. Olshan-Dori's final judicial report exposed the difficulty of political management in the Defense Ministry with the cabinet conflicts emerging from Ben-Gurion's stewardship. Sharett's efforts to unblock the diplomatic impasse had failed. Nasser still prevented access to the Suez Canal. Israeli shipments of arms to defend the state dried up at a time when Arab belligerency was rising. Sharett might have learned from Weizmann's experience at befriending the consummate politician Ben-Gurion; Sharett also believed he could install him as his subordinate. Ben-Gurion had been out of office for a year, but returned to demand that Dayan be reappointed. Ben-Gurion spoke regularly with socialist leaders Dayan and

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

. A few weeks later an Israeli was murdered by infiltrators near the border. Ben-Gurion and Dayan immediately demanded approval of the planned

Operation Black Arrow Operation Black Arrow () was an Israeli military operation carried out in Gaza (while under Egyptian control) on 28 February 1955. The operation targeted the Egyptian Army. Thirty-eight Egyptian soldiers were killed during the operation as were ...

, which involved attacking Gaza. Sharett had attempted to be pacifistic and restrained during his premiership, but was overtaken by the vocal elements in Mapai and their growing electoral support in the run-up to a General election. After the military disaster at

Qibya Qibya () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, located northwest of Ramallah and exactly north of the large Israeli city of Modi'in. It is part of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, and according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Sta ...

, in which Dayan had caused civilians to be killed, he was forced to change

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

(IDF) policy towards targeting military installations on 28 February 1955. Sharett was concerned that casualties should be kept to an absolute minimum; 8 Israelis and 37 Egyptians died in an operation that was the most bloody since the armistice of 1949. An adjutant at the ministry, Nehemia Argov, wrote to Foreign Minister and PM Sharett to report the Gaza Raid as 8 dead and 8 wounded. The wounded were sent to Kaplan Hospital.

Principles of moderation

Sharett's diary included passages in which he bewailed the senseless denigration of duty lacking credibility. He harked back to the days of ''

Havlagah ''Havlagah'' ( , ) was the strategic policy of the Yishuv during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. It called for Zionist militants to abstain from engaging in acts of retaliatory violence against Palestinian Arabs in the face of Arab a ...

'' when in the 1930s both he, Sharett and Ben-Gurion had pursued a policy of self-restraint in matters military. Sharett abhorred vengeful killing, he regarded these acts as emotional over-wrought responses in which involuntary killing was devoid of moral sentiment. A policy of reprisal merely sought to justify the excessive use of force. Sharett's pacific doctrine was diluted by both Ben-Gurion and Minister of Defense Dayan, and Operational commander of the Paratroop Brigade, Sharon. Sharett opposed any move that would attract moral outcry of European powers and an arms trade embargo.

Last months as foreign minister

At the next elections in November 1955, Ben-Gurion replaced Sharett as head of the list and became prime minister again. Sharett retained his role as Foreign Minister under the new government of Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion justified much of his policy on the siege mentality of a minority of Jews living within 57 times as many Arabs living in 215 times the land area. Sharett came to see Nasser as "suffering from delusions of grandeur" with an almost Hitlerite ambition to export revolution abroad. Shimon Peres was sent to London and Paris to drum up arms. He made a significant deal with France for jets and artillery. Peres, later a Prime Minister of Israel, was praised from the Knesset for handling the complexities of the 4th Republic. The uneasy diplomatic language between Nasser and Israel that had characterised the post-1949 period turned into open hostility. Nasser ended even secretive clandestine contacts. Within days of the

Gaza Raid Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

Iraq aligned in a Baghdad Pact with Turkey. Ben-Gurion decided to replace Sharett as Foreign Minister with someone more sympathetic to his views, Golda Meir. The cabinet voted 35 to 7 in favour of resignation, but 75 members of the Central Committee abstained. The British and French would provide a shield for Israel against sanctions. Nasser proclaimed a determination to set the Palestinians free. The Egyptian army was very certain of success; the Syrians announced a "war against imperialism, Zionism and Israel". According to Ben-Gurion, the Soviet Encyclopaedia now declared the Arab-Israeli War of Independence in 1948 "was caused by American Imperialism".

Retirement

After stepping down as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 18 June 1956, in protest at the new government's bellicose policy which he thought dangerously precipitate, Sharett decided to retire. During his retirement he became chairman of

Am Oved Am Oved ("A Working People") is an Israeli publishing house. History Am Oved was founded in 1942 by Berl Katznelson, who was its first editor in chief. It was created as an organ of the Histadrut, Israel's federation of Labor, with a goal of publ ...

publishing house, Chairman of

Beit Berl Beit Berl () is an institutional settlement in Israel. Located on the outskirts of Kfar Saba, the village falls under the jurisdiction of Drom HaSharon Regional Council and is the location of Beit Berl College, which has around 7,000 students. I ...

College, and Chairman of 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 the Jewish Agency. He died in Jerusalem in 1965, and was buried in Tel Aviv's Trumpeldor Cemetery.

Commemoration

Sharett's personal diaries, first published by his son Yaakov in 1978, have proved to be an important source for Israeli history. In 2007, the Moshe Sharett Heritage Society, the foundation that Yaakov established to care for Sharett's legacy, discovered a file of thousands of passages that had been omitted from the published edition. They included "shocking revelations" about defense minister

. A new edition published was complete, apart from a few words still classified. Many cities have named streets, schools, or other landmarks in his honor, including streets in

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( ) is a city on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In , it had a population of . History British Mandate Bat Y ...

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

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 ...

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

. From 1988 to 2017, Sharett appeared on the 20 NIS bills. The bill first featured Sharett, with the names of his books in small print, and with a small image of him presenting the Israeli flag to the United Nations in 1949. On the back of the bill, there was an image of the

, from which he graduated. In 1998, the bill went through a graphic revision, with the list of Sharett's books on the front side being replaced by part of his 1949 speech to the UN. The back side then featured an image of

volunteers, part of a speech by Sharett on the radio after visiting the Brigade in Italy, and the list of his books in small print. In November 2017, Sharett's portrait was replaced with that of

Rachel Bluwstein Rachel Bluwstein Sela (; 20 September (Julian calendar) 1890 – 16 April 1931) was a Hebrew-language poet who immigrated to Ottoman Palestine, in 1909. She is known by her first name, Rachel ( ), or as Rachel the Poetess ( ). She is featu ...

Gallery

File:מר שרת בחברת אחותו רבקה במדי הצבא הטורקי-JNF035781.jpeg, Sharett in Ottoman uniform with sister, Rebecca, 1917 File:מר שרת בחברת רעיתו ודב הז-JNF035756.jpeg, Sharett with

Dov Hoz Dov Hoz (; September 19, 1894 - December 29, 1940) was a leader of the Labor Zionism movement, one of the founders of the Haganah organization, and a pioneer of Israeli aviation. Biography Born in Orsha, Russian Empire, in 1894, Hoz immigrated to ...

, 1930, Sharett's wife on left File:Moshe Sharett, 1936.jpg, Moshe Sharett, 1936 File:Chaim Weizmann - Seyfullah Esin - Moshe Sharett 1950.jpg, Israeli President

(left) with first Turkish ambassador to Israel, Seyfullah Esin (c), and Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, 1950 File:Moshe Sharett - Amin Gargurah.jpg, Amin Gargurah (left), the Mayor of

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

, and Moshe Sharett, 1955 File:U Nu and Moshe Shareet.jpg, Moshe Sharett,

U Nu Nu (; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as Burmese names#Honorifics, U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese people, Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was ...

, and

at the

Lod Airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, it is the busiest ...

in 1955.

References

;Bibliography * * * * * * *

External links

Moshe Sharett Heritage Society
official website

at Jewish Virtual Library

at Jewish Agency for Israel *The

Central Zionist Archives Central Zionist Archives (CZA; ) is the official archive of the institutions of the Zionist Movement: the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, and Keren Hayesod/the United Israel Appeal as well as the archive ...

in Jerusale
site
The Office of Moshe Sharett (S65), Personal papers (A245). *Livia Rokach
''Israel's Sacred Terrorism: A Study Based on Moshe Sharett's Personal Diary and Other Documents''
foreword by

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

, 1980.
Yaakov Sharet's fall from Zionism and the Sharett family saga
in Haaretz, 19 Sep 2021 (registration needed). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharett, Moshe 1894 births 1965 deaths Politicians from Kherson 20th-century prime ministers of Israel Darülfünun alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium alumni Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Jewish Agency for Israel Jewish Israeli politicians Israeli prisoners and detainees Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Ashkenazi Jews from Ottoman Palestine Immigrants of the First Aliyah Mapai leaders 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) Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Ministers of foreign affairs of Israel Ottoman military personnel of World War I Prime ministers of Israel Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence Ukrainian Jews Ukrainian Zionists Deaths from cancer in Israel Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery Prisoners and detainees of the British military Sokolov Award recipients