Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi (; May 1886 – 16 November 1979) was an Israeli author and educator, and a leading

Labor Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the Left-wing politics, left-wing, socialism, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist ...

. Ben-Zvi was the wife of the second

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...

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 ...

Biography

Rachel Yanait was born Golda Lishansky in the town of

Malyn Malyn (, ) is a city in Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of Ukraine located about northwest of Kyiv. It served as the administrative center of Malyn Raion until the administrative reform in 2020, when it was merged into Korosten Raion. Population: ...

Radomyslsky Uyezd The Radomysl uezd (; ) was one of the subdivisions of the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Radomyshl. It included the city of Chernobyl which later becam ...

of the

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

of 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

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 ...

). As a teenager in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

she joined the newly formed underground

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

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 ...

party,

Poale Zion Poale Zion (, also romanized ''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th c ...

. She supported herself while studying by teaching

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 ...

. In 1904 she was amongst a group of 16 young people arrested after a clandestine meeting. She was held for several months in

Lukyanivska Prison Lukianivska Prison () is a famous historical prison in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, located in the central Lukianivka neighborhood of the city. It is officially known as SIZO#13 () which is a portmanteau for ''Slidchyi IZOliator'' (). Though the ...

for being a Jew in Kiev without a permit. The following year, while studying agriculture in France, she was chosen as the Poale Zion delegate from Malyn to the Seventh Zionist Congress in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. After the Congress she accompanied

Ber Borochov Dov Ber Borochov (; – 17 December 1917) was a Marxist Zionist and one of the founders of the Labor Zionist movement. He was also a pioneer in the study of the Yiddish language. Biography Dov Ber Borochov was born in the town of Z ...

on a visit to the leader of the German Zionist Organisation in Berlin, Dr Arthur Hantke. They persuaded him to fund the purchase of some guns which they smuggled back to Kiev. In 1908, she emigrated to

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 ...

, which was then under the rule of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. She was one of the founding members of Poale Zion in Palestine. In Jerusalem she gave classes on

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

at the Hebrew Gymnasium high school. The following year she and Yitzhak Ben Zvi took part in the first meeting of

Hashomer Hashomer (, 'The Watchman') was a Jewish defense organization in Palestine founded in April 1909. It was an outgrowth of the Bar-Giora group and was disbanded after the founding of the Haganah in 1920. Hashomer was responsible for guarding Je ...

, the Jewish underground militia. In 1911 she studied agriculture at the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

. On graduating she returned to Palestine. During the

First World War 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 ...

she was the only leader of Poale Zion who remained in Palestine. After the war she changed her name to Yanait, after the Hashmonean king Alexander Yannai.Teveth, p.73 In 1918, she married Ben-Zvi, leader Poale Zion and co-founder of Hashomer. They had two sons together. After

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 ...

, she founded "The Educational Farm" 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 ...

; a farm that provided agricultural education for women. She was among the founders of "The Hebrew Gymnasium" in Jerusalem and remained a labor activist. She was also active in 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 ...

paramilitary organization and organized the clandestine aliyah of immigrants through

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Her son, Eli, was killed in March 1948 at

Beit Keshet Beit Keshet (, ''lit.'' House of the Bow (weapon), Bow) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located to the east of Nazareth, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lower Galilee Regional Council. As of its population was . It is located immediately opp ...

during the civil war in Mandatory Palestine. After the founding of the

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 ...

, she was active in the absorption of immigrants from Arab countries. In 1952, her husband was appointed the

president of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Israel, pr ...

. As the first lady of Israel, she opened the president's house to people from all the strata of Israeli society. During that time, she wrote about education and defense and wrote an autobiography called ''We are

Olim ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...

'' (אנו עולים / anu olim), which was published in 1961. In 1978, Ben-Zvi was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for her special contribution to society and the State of Israel. She died on 16 November 1979.

References

External links

Biography in Hebrew

Rachel Yanait Ben-zvi
Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Zvi, Rachel Yanait 1886 births 1979 deaths People from Malyn People from Radomyslsky Uyezd Ukrainian Jews Ukrainian Zionists Jewish writers from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Jews from Ottoman Palestine Jews from Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Poale Zion politicians Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Haganah members Jewish socialists Spouses of presidents of Israel Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients Israel Prize women recipients Burials at Har HaMenuchot Immigrants of the Second Aliyah

Biography

See also

References

External links