Yuval Ne'eman
Encyclopedia
Yuval Ne'eman was a renowned Israel
i theoretical
physicist
, military scientist, and politician
. He was a minister in the Israeli government in the 1980s and early 1990s.
during the Mandate era, graduated from high school at the age of 15, and studied mechanical engineering
at the Technion.
At the age of 15, Ne'eman also joined the Haganah
. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
Ne'eman served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as battalion deputy commander, then as Operations Officer of Tel Aviv, and commander of Givati Brigade
.
Later (1952–54) he served as Deputy Commander of Operations Department of General Staff, Commander of Planning Department of IDF. In this role, he helped organize the IDF into a reservist
-based army, developed the mobilization system, and wrote the first draft of the Israel defense doctrine.
Between 1958 and 1960 Ne'eman was IDF Attaché in Great Britain, where he also studied for a PhD in physics
under the supervision of 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Abdus Salam
at Imperial College London
. In 1961, he was demobilized from the IDF with a rank of Colonel
.
s through the SU(3) flavour symmetry, now named the Eightfold Way
, which was also proposed independently by Murray Gell-Mann
. This SU(3) symmetry laid the foundation of the quark model
, proposed by Gell-Mann and George Zweig
in 1964 (independently of each other).
Ne'eman was founder and director of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University
from 1965 to 1972, president of Tel Aviv University from 1971 to 1975, and director of its Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies from 1979 to 1997. He was also the co-director (along with Sudarshan) of the Center for Particle Theory at the University of Texas, Austin from 1968 to 1990. He was a strong believer in the importance of space research and satellites to Israel's economic future and security, and thus founded the Israeli Space Agency
in 1983, which he chaired almost until his death. He also served on the Atomic Energy Commission from 1965 to 1984 and held the position of scientific director in its Soreq
facility. Neeman was chief scientist of the Defense Ministry from 1974 to 1976.
He was described as "one of the most colorful figures of modern science" and co-authored The Particle Hunters, which was published in English in 1986. The Times
Literary Supplement hailed this book as "the best guide to quantum physics at present available".
He was also awarded with the College de France Medal and the Officer's Cross of the French Order of Merit (Paris, 1972), the Wigner Medal (Istanbul-Austin, 1982), Birla Science Award (Hyderabad, 1998) and additional prizes and honorary doctorates from universities in Europe and USA.
In 2005, he was voted the 133rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
, a right-wing breakaway from Likud
, formed in opposition to Menachem Begin
's support for the Camp David talks that paved the way for peace with Egypt
and the evacuation of Yamit
. He was elected to the Knesset
in the 1981 elections
in which Tehiya won three seats. The party joined Begin's coalition about a year after the elections and Ne'eman was appointed Minister of Science and Development
, the role later changed to Minister of Science and Technology.
He retained his seat in the 1984 elections
, but Tehiya were not included in the grand coalition formed by the Alignment
and Likud
. After the 1988 elections
, Tehiya were again excluded from the governing coalition. Ne'eman resigned from the Knesset on 31 January 1990 and was replaced by Gershon Shafat
. However, Tehiya joined the government in June after the Alignment had left, and he was appointed Minister of Energy and Infrastructure
and Minister of Science and Technology despite not retaking his seat in the Knesset. He lost his ministerial position following the 1992 elections
and did not return to politics.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i theoretical
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
physicist
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, military scientist, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was a minister in the Israeli government in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Biography
Yuval Ne'eman was born in Tel AvivTel 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...
during the Mandate era, graduated from high school at the age of 15, and studied mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
at the Technion.
At the age of 15, Ne'eman also 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 :...
. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
Ne'eman served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as battalion deputy commander, then as Operations Officer of Tel Aviv, and commander of Givati Brigade
Givati Brigade
The Givati Brigade is an infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, and serves as its amphibious force. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets...
.
Later (1952–54) he served as Deputy Commander of Operations Department of General Staff, Commander of Planning Department of IDF. In this role, he helped organize the IDF into a reservist
Reservist
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a former active-duty member of the armed...
-based army, developed the mobilization system, and wrote the first draft of the Israel defense doctrine.
Between 1958 and 1960 Ne'eman was IDF Attaché in Great Britain, where he also studied for a PhD in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
under the supervision of 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
. In 1961, he was demobilized from the IDF with a rank of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
.
Scientific career
One of his greatest achievements in physics was his 1961 discovery of the classification of hadronHadron
In particle physics, a hadron is a composite particle made of quarks held together by the strong force...
s through the SU(3) flavour symmetry, now named the Eightfold Way
Eightfold way (physics)
In physics, the Eightfold Way is a term coined by American physicist Murray Gell-Mann for a theory organizing subatomic baryons and mesons into octets...
, which was also proposed independently by Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann is an American physicist and linguist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles...
. This SU(3) symmetry laid the foundation of the quark model
Quark model
In physics, the quark model is a classification scheme for hadrons in terms of their valence quarks—the quarks and antiquarks which give rise to the quantum numbers of the hadrons....
, proposed by Gell-Mann and George Zweig
George Zweig
George Zweig was originally trained as a particle physicist under Richard Feynman and later turned his attention to neurobiology...
in 1964 (independently of each other).
Ne'eman was founder and director of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
from 1965 to 1972, president of Tel Aviv University from 1971 to 1975, and director of its Sackler Institute of Advanced Studies from 1979 to 1997. He was also the co-director (along with Sudarshan) of the Center for Particle Theory at the University of Texas, Austin from 1968 to 1990. He was a strong believer in the importance of space research and satellites to Israel's economic future and security, and thus founded the Israeli Space Agency
Israeli Space Agency
Israel Space Agency is a governmental body that coordinates all Israeli space research programs with scientific and commercial goals. It was established in 1983 and is currently headed by Aluf professor Yitzhak Ben Yisrael...
in 1983, which he chaired almost until his death. He also served on the Atomic Energy Commission from 1965 to 1984 and held the position of scientific director in its Soreq
Soreq Nuclear Research Center
The Soreq Nuclear Research Center is a research and development institute located near the localities of Palmachim and Yavne in Israel. It operates under the auspices of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission...
facility. Neeman was chief scientist of the Defense Ministry from 1974 to 1976.
He was described as "one of the most colorful figures of modern science" and co-authored The Particle Hunters, which was published in English in 1986. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Literary Supplement hailed this book as "the best guide to quantum physics at present available".
Awards and honours
- In 1969, Ne'eman received 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...
in the field of exact sciences (which he returned in 1992 in protest of the award of the Israel Prize to Emile HabibiEmile HabibiImil Shukri Habibi was an Israeli-Palestinian writer of Arabic expression and a communist politician, son of a Christian family.In 2005, he was voted the 143rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest...
). - In 1970, he received the Albert Einstein AwardAlbert Einstein AwardThe Albert Einstein Award was an award in theoretical physics that was established to recognize high achievement in the natural sciences. It was endowed by the Lewis and Rosa Strauss Memorial Fund in honor of Albert Einstein's 70th birthday...
for his unique contribution in the field of physics. - In 1984, he received the Wigner Medal, which is awarded every 2 years for "outstanding contributions to the understanding of physics through group theory."
- In 2003, he received the EMET PrizeEMET PrizeThe Emet Prize for Art, Science and Culture is an annual Israeli prize given for excellence in academic and professional achievements that have far reaching influence and significant contribution to society....
for Arts, Sciences and Culture for his pioneering contribution in the deciphering of the atomic nucleus and its components, and for his enormous scientific contribution to the development of sub-atomic physics in Israel.
He was also awarded with the College de France Medal and the Officer's Cross of the French Order of Merit (Paris, 1972), the Wigner Medal (Istanbul-Austin, 1982), Birla Science Award (Hyderabad, 1998) and additional prizes and honorary doctorates from universities in Europe and USA.
In 2005, he was voted the 133rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet 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.
Political career
In the late 1970s, Ne'eman founded TehiyaTehiya
Tehiya , originally known as Banai , then Tehiya-Bnai , was a small right-wing political party in Israel that existed from 1979 until 1992...
, a right-wing breakaway from Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
, formed in opposition to Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
's support for the Camp David talks that paved the way for peace with Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the evacuation of Yamit
Yamit
Yamit was an Israeli settlement in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula with a population of about 2,500 people .The settlement was established during Israel's occupation of the peninsula from the end of the 1967 Six-Day War, until that part of the Sinai was handed over to Egypt in 1982 as...
. He was elected to 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...
in the 1981 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1981
Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...
in which Tehiya won three seats. The party joined Begin's coalition about a year after the elections and Ne'eman was appointed Minister of Science and Development
Science, Culture and Sport Minister of Israel
The Science and Technology Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology and a relatively minor position in the Israeli cabinet. The current minister is Daniel Hershkowitz of The Jewish Home party...
, the role later changed to Minister of Science and Technology.
He retained his seat in the 1984 elections
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 Tehiya were not included in the grand coalition formed by 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...
and Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
. 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...
, Tehiya were again excluded from the governing coalition. Ne'eman resigned from the Knesset on 31 January 1990 and was replaced by Gershon Shafat
Gershon Shafat
Gershon Shafat is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Tehiya during the mid-1980s and early 1990s.-Biography:Born Gershon Staub in Vienna, Austria in 1927, Shafat made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1934...
. However, Tehiya joined the government in June after the Alignment had left, and he was appointed Minister of Energy and Infrastructure
National Infrastructure Minister of Israel
The National Infrastructure Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure. From its establishment in 1977 until 1996, the post was known as the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure . The current minister is Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu.It succeeded...
and Minister of Science and Technology despite not retaking his seat in the Knesset. He lost his ministerial position following the 1992 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1992
Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...
and did not return to politics.
Death
He died at age 80, on 26 April 2006 in the Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv, due to a stroke. He left a wife, Dvora, a son and daughter, and a sister, Ruth Ben-Yisrael.External links
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients