David Ben-Gurion
| David Ben-Gurion | |
|---|---|
| |
| Term of office May 17, 1948 - January 26, 1954 | |
| Political party | Mapai |
| Preceded by | ''New office'' |
| Succeeded by | Moshe Sharett |
| Term of office November 3, 1955 - June 26, 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Moshe Sharett |
| Succeeded by | Levi Eshkol |
| Born | October 16, 1886 Jerusalem |
| Died | December 1, 1973 Tel Aviv |
| Religion | Atheism[1] |
David Ben-Gurion (Oct 16, 1886, in Jerusalem, Israel – Dec 1, 1973, Tel-Aviv) was a leader of the modern state of Israel, which he proclaimed on May 4, 1948. He served Israel as its first prime minister until 1963 except for a brief period from 1954 to 1955. He also served as the minister of defense.
Biography
A Zionist, he settled in Palestine as an orchard worker in 1906. He was involved in the foundation of the worker's union Histradut (general secretary 1921–1935) and of the socialist party Mapai. As chairman of the Jewish Agency (1935–1948), he organized the immigration of Jewish refugees from Europe to Palestine against the resistance of the Palestinian Arabs and the British, who held a League of Nations mandate over the area and wished to avoid immigration policies that would upset the status quo. In 1944, he became president of the World Zionist Organization.
In 1956 during the Suez Crisis as a result of Egyptian provocations Ben-Gurion ordered to take over the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli army withdrew from it when Israel was allowed to use the Strait of Tiran and when de facto peace was established along the Egyptian-Israeli border.[2]
He read extensively, accumulating a library of some 20,000 books.[3]
See also
References
- Bar-Zohar, Michael: Ben Gurion, 1971–1974
External links
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