Stella Levy (; 1924 – 19 July 1999) was an Israeli soldier and politician.

Biography

Born in

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 ...

in 1924, Levy made

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

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 1929. She attended the

Hebrew Reali School The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa (), located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools.Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, and later studied psychology at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

and political science and art at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. Levy joined 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 ...

during her youth, and 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 ...

she served in the Communications Corps of 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 ...

between 1942 and 1946. After Israeli independence in 1948, she completed the first IDF officers' training course, and commanded the Women's Corps platoon of the Carmel Brigade between 1948 and 1949. She completed a battalion commanders course in 1949, and in 1951 became head of the Women's Corps in the Northern Command. From 1964 until 1970, she served as commander of the Women's Corps. From 1970 until 1974, she worked as a military emissary to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, before being demobilised with the rank of colonel in 1974. In 1974 she helped form the Civil Guard subdivision of

Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

and served in it until 1976. The following year she joined the

Democratic Movement for Change The Democratic Movement for Change (, ''Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui''), commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Dash (), was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known ...

. She was on the party's list for the 1977 Knesset elections but failed to win a seat. She entered the Knesset on 20 February 1981 as a replacement for

Stef Wertheimer Stef Wertheimer (; 16 July 1926 – 26 March 2025) was an Israeli billionaire industrialist, investor, philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset, and was known for founding industrial parks in Israel and neighboring countries ...

,Knesset Members of the Ninth Knesset
Knesset and chose to join the Shinui faction (the Democratic Movement of Change had split into several parties in 1978). However, she lost her seat in the June 1981 elections. Outside politics Levy was also a member of the

Zionist Executive Committee Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly cor ...

and on the board of the Israeli branch of the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...

. She died in July 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Stella 1924 births 1999 deaths Auxiliary Territorial Service soldiers Jews from the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Syrian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews from Mandatory Palestine Haganah members University of Haifa alumni Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli soldiers Israeli police officers Israeli people of Syrian-Jewish descent Women members of the Knesset Democratic Movement for Change politicians Shinui politicians Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) 20th-century Israeli women politicians Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah Mandatory Palestine military personnel of World War II Israeli female military personnel Israeli colonels Hebrew Reali School alumni Jewish women politicians