Netiva Ben Yehuda (; July 1928, Tel Aviv – 28 February 2011) was an Israeli author, editor and media personality. She was a commander in the pre-state

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

underground

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...

Biography

Netiva ("Tiva") Ben-Yehuda was born in

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 ...

, in

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

, on 26 July 1928. Her father was Baruch Ben-Yehuda, director general of the first Israeli ministry of education. Ben-Yehuda joined the Palmach at the age of 18 and was trained in demolition, bomb disposal, topography, and scouting. Her duties included transferring ammunition, escorting convoys, and training recruits. The Palmach generally opposed women fighting at the front, however Ben-Yehuda was a commander and participated in several battles by performing sabotage operations. On February 11, 1948, Ben-Yehuda and her comrades planted a mine for a busload of Arabs. This event and the ensuing death impacted Ben-Yehuda psychologically. Ben-Yehuda considered competing in discus throwing at the

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, but a bullet injury to her arm kept her from pursuing an athletic career. She studied at the

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design () is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the ...

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 ...

and

Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until the modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconc ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

Ben Yehuda worked as a freelance editor, and in 1972 published ''The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang''. Between 1981 and 1991, she published her Palmah trilogy, a series of three novels based on her own experience in the War of Independence (see "Published works"). She wrote over 30 books, including a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

slang dictionary, coauthored with Dahn Ben-Amotz. She was the host of a late-night Israel Radio show for 14 years where she played old-time Israeli songs and spoke with callers. She was a resident of Palmach Street in the capital, and the local cafe she patronized on that street became known as "Cafe Netiva." Ben Yehuda died on 28 February 2011 at the age of 82.

Awards and honours

In 2004, Ben Yehuda received the

Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim (; ) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967. The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to one or more residents of the city who have contributed to the cultural an ...

(Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award from the city of

. City of Jerusalem official website

Quote

On the subject of the Palmach: "I don't think that there has ever been any other underground movement in the world in which 'male chauvinism' triumphed so powerfully and so proudly".

Published works

* ''The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang'' (with Dahn Ben Amotz), Zmora Bitan, 1972 a-Milon Le-Ivrit Meduberet* ''1948 – Between Calendars'' (novel), Keter, 1981 en Ha-Sefirot part of the Palmach trilogy * ''The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang, Part 2'' (with Dahn Ben Amotz), Zmora Bitan, 1982 a-Milon Le-Ivrit Meduberet II* ''Blessings and Curses'' (writings), Keter, 1984 rachot U-Klalot* ''Through the Binding Ropes'' (novel), Domino, 1985 i-Bead L'Avotot part of the Palmach trilogy * ''Jerusalem from the Inside'' (novel), Edanim, 1988 erushalayim Mi-Bifnocho* ''Autobiography in Poem and Song'' (folk songs), Keter, 1991 tobiografia Be-Shir U-Zemer* ''When the State of Israel Broke Out'' (novel), Keter, 1991 e-She Partzah Ha-Medinah part of the Palmach trilogy

References

External links

Official website
(in Hebrew)

"Front line combat" audio essay by Ben-Yehuda at BBC online

"Netiva Ben Yehuda" article in the Jewish Women's Encyclopedia by Yael Feldman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Yehuda, Netiva 1928 births 2011 deaths Jewish Israeli writers Palmach members Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Hebrew language Jewish printing and publishing Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Israeli women writers Israeli women novelists Israeli novelists Israeli lexicographers Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni Women lexicographers 20th-century Israeli novelists 20th-century Israeli women writers Israeli women radio personalities Israeli radio personalities Women in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War