Aryeh Eliav
Encyclopedia
Arie "Lova" Eliav, born Lev Lipschitz , (21 November 1921 – 30 May 2010), was an Israel
i politician and former member of the Knesset
.
and worked as a teacher and sociologist. He later served as a visiting professor in several American academic institutes, including two years at Harvard University
(1979–1980) and his two terms at Trinity College
in the 1990s.
As a teenager, he joined the Haganah
in 1936 before joining the British Army in 1940, serving in an artillery unit. Upon his return home in 1945 he helped the Aliyah Bet movement and served as a colonel in the IDF
. He later worked as an aide to Levi Eshkol
on the topics of immigration, absorption and settlement. Between 1955 and 1957 he oversaw the foundation of several settlements in the Lakhish Regional Council
area. During the Suez Crisis
he supervised Operation Tushia, which transported the Jews of Port Said
to Israel.
In 1958 he returned to Moscow, where he worked as the first secretary in the Israeli embassy, a position he held until 1960.
on the Alignment
's list, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. During the Knesset term he became Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption
.
He retained his seat in the 1969 election
, but was not given a ministerial position. However, he did become general secretary of the Labour Party until 1971. After again retaining his seat in the 1973
, he left the party, first sitting as an independent MK, before joining with the Ratz faction to form Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
. However, the new party split up soon after its foundation, with Eliav founding a new party, the Social-Democratic Faction
together with Marcia Freedman
. The new party later changed its name to Independent Socialist Faction.
In the run up to the 1977 elections
, he joined the Left Camp of Israel
. The new party won only two seats, but a rotation agreement saw the terms shared by five people; Eliav served the first term, before resigning from the Knesset in January 1979 to make way for Uri Avnery
. In 1984 he established a personal faction that ran in the elections that year
, but failed to cross the electoral threshold by around 5,000 votes. In 1987 he returned to the Labor Party.
In 1987 he led a Jewish Agency
project initiated by him to found Nitzana
, a new educational community, in the Negev
desert. He served as the Head of Community until 2008. Eliav returned to the Knesset after the 1988 elections
. He served one last Knesset term and in 1992 he decided not to run for a new term.
Eliav died in Tel Aviv
on 30 May 2010 at the age of 89.
and promoted the development of Lachish
and Kiryat Gat. In the 1980s, he was the driving spirit behind the establishment of Nitzana
in the Western Negev, turning the sand dunes into a youth village
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician and former member of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
.
Biography
Eliav was born in Moscow in 1921. The family moved to Mandate Palestine in 1924. He studied history and sociology, gaining a BA from the Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
and worked as a teacher and sociologist. He later served as a visiting professor in several American academic institutes, including two years at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1979–1980) and his two terms at Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
in the 1990s.
As a teenager, he joined the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
in 1936 before joining the British Army in 1940, serving in an artillery unit. Upon his return home in 1945 he helped the Aliyah Bet movement and served as a colonel in the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
. He later worked as an aide to Levi Eshkol
Levi Eshkol
' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Biography:...
on the topics of immigration, absorption and settlement. Between 1955 and 1957 he oversaw the foundation of several settlements in the Lakhish Regional Council
Lakhish Regional Council
Lakhish Regional Council is a regional council in the South District of Israel. It surrounds the ancient city of Lakhish and the modern city of Kiryat Gat. It was founded in 1955. Today it includes 15 moshavim and one village, as listed below. As of 2008, three new communities are being built in...
area. During the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
he supervised Operation Tushia, which transported the Jews of Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
to Israel.
In 1958 he returned to Moscow, where he worked as the first secretary in the Israeli embassy, a position he held until 1960.
Political career
Eliav was first elected to the Knesset in the 1965Israeli legislative election, 1965
Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1965. Voter turnout was 85.9%.-Background:Prior to the elections, two major alliances were formed; Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda united to form the Alignment, whilst Herut and the Liberal Party had formed the Gahal alliance towards the end...
on the Alignment
Alignment (political party)
The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...
's list, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. During the Knesset term he became Deputy Minister of Immigrant Absorption
Immigrant Absorption Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption of Israel , known until 1951 as the Ministry of Immigration , a ministry in the Israeli government.In co-ordination with local authorities, the Ministry is responsible for new immigrants for three weeks after they arrive...
.
He retained his seat in the 1969 election
Israeli legislative election, 1969
Elections for the seventh Knesset were held in Israel on 28 October 1969. Voter turnout was 81.7%.-Results:¹ Meir Avizohar defected from the National List to the Alignment² Avner Shaki left the National Religious Party and remained a single MK...
, but was not given a ministerial position. However, he did become general secretary of the Labour Party until 1971. After again retaining his seat in the 1973
Israeli legislative election, 1973
The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement...
, he left the party, first sitting as an independent MK, before joining with the Ratz faction to form Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement
Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement , commonly known as just Ya'ad, was a short-lived political party in Israel. It is not related to the other party by the name of Ya'ad which existed during the ninth Knesset.-Background:...
. However, the new party split up soon after its foundation, with Eliav founding a new party, the Social-Democratic Faction
Independent Socialist Faction
The Independent Socialist Faction was a political party in Israel in the 1970s.-Background:The party was established on 27 January 1976, during the eighth Knesset, as the Social-Democratic Faction, when Aryeh Eliav and Marcia Freedman left Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement. Prior to its creation,...
together with Marcia Freedman
Marcia Freedman
Marcia Freedman is an American-Israeli activist on behalf of peace, women's rights, and gay rights. In the early 1970s she helped create and lead the feminist movement in Israel...
. The new party later changed its name to Independent Socialist Faction.
In the run up to the 1977 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1977
The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...
, he joined the Left Camp of Israel
Left Camp of Israel
The Left Camp of Israel was a left-wing political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli , an acronym for Peace for Israel .-Background:...
. The new party won only two seats, but a rotation agreement saw the terms shared by five people; Eliav served the first term, before resigning from the Knesset in January 1979 to make way for Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement.A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat in the Knesset from 1965–74 and 1979–81...
. In 1984 he established a personal faction that ran in the elections that year
Israeli legislative election, 1984
Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977...
, but failed to cross the electoral threshold by around 5,000 votes. In 1987 he returned to the Labor Party.
In 1987 he led a Jewish Agency
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
project initiated by him to found Nitzana
Nitzana (village)
Nitzana is an educational youth village and communal settlement in the western Negev desert in Israel, adjacent to the Egyptian border. It is named for the nearby Nabataean city of Nitzana and gives its name to the Nitzana Border Crossing, formerly Auja al-Hafir.This settlement was founded in 1987...
, a new educational community, in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
desert. He served as the Head of Community until 2008. Eliav returned to the Knesset after the 1988 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1988
Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.-Results:1 Five members of the Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea; after two returned, the party was renamed the New Liberal Party...
. He served one last Knesset term and in 1992 he decided not to run for a new term.
Eliav died in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
on 30 May 2010 at the age of 89.
Pioneering activity
Eliav helped to found the city of Arad in the NegevNegev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
and promoted the development of Lachish
Lachish
Lachish was an ancient Near East town located at the site of modern Tell ed-Duweir in the Shephelah, a region between Mount Hebron and the maritime plain of Philistia . The town was first mentioned in the Amarna letters as Lakisha-Lakiša...
and Kiryat Gat. In the 1980s, he was the driving spirit behind the establishment of Nitzana
Nitzana
Nitzana may refer to:*Nitzana , a city of the ancient Nabataeans located in the Negev desert in Israel*Nitzana , a communal settlement near the ruins of the Nabataean city...
in the Western Negev, turning the sand dunes into a youth village
Youth village
A youth village is a boarding school model first developed in Mandate Palestine in the 1930s to care for groups of children and teenagers fleeing the Nazis...
.
Honors and awards
Eliav was one of the most decorated citizens of Israel, a Doctor of Honour of all important academic institutes of Israel.- In 1988, he was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
, for special contributions to society and the State of Israel. - In 2003, he won the Ben-Gurion Prize.
- In 2005, he was voted the 74th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website YnetYnetYnet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Published works
Eliav published 15 books, including:- Between Hammer and Sickle (1965)
- The Voyage of the Ulua (1967)
- New targets for Israel (1969)
- The Short Cut (1970)
- Land of the Hart (1972)
- Shalom: Peace in Jewish Tradition (1977)
- Autobiography: Rings of Dawn (1984)
- New Heart, New Spirit: Biblical Humanism for Modern Israel (1986)
- On Both Sides of the New-Comers' Camp (2006) – with co-author Y. Alfi