Israel Bar-Yehuda
Encyclopedia
Yisrael Bar-Yehuda was a Zionist activist and Israel
i politician.
in the Russian Empire
(now Sumy Oblast
, Ukraine
) in 1895, Bar-Yehuda attended an Academic High School and the Mine Engineering Institute in Ekaterinoslav
. In 1909 joined Tze'irei Zion (later to be merged into Hashomer Hatzair
) and was made a member of its central committee in Russia in 1917. He was Secretary of the Central Committee of the “Socialist Zionists”, where he met and married Beba Idelson
(whom he would later divorce). In 1922 they were arrested by the Soviet
authorities and exiled to Siberia
. In 1924, thanks to an intercession by Maxim Gorki's wife, their banishment was converted to deportation to Mandate Palestine. They traveled to Lithuania
and from there to Berlin
by way of Danzig
. For the next two years in Berlin they were active in establishing the World Union of Socialist Zionists and became the Movement's Secretary.
In 1926 he immigrated
to Palestine. He was Secretary of the Petah Tikva
Workers Council and organized sentries to protect Jewish workers. He also did roadwork on the Tel Aviv
-Petah Tikva road. In 1930 he joined kibbutz
Yagur
, and became its secretary six years later. During the 1936-39 Arab revolt he was among the first to call for "active defense".
He was a delegate to the Assembly of Representatives and a member of the Constituent Assembly. He was one of the leaders of the “B” faction in Mapai
and one of the leaders of the Ahdut HaAvoda
after the split in 1944. From 1960 to 1962 he was secretary general of Ahdut HaAvoda.
He was elected to the first and second Knesset
s for Mapam
and for Ahdut HaAvoda to the third through fifth. He was a member of the House, Constitution, Law and Justice, Foreign Affairs & Defense, Constitution, Law and Justice, Labor, and Finance Committees, as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee for Basic Laws
. he was also Deputy Speaker of the third Knesset. He was Minister of Internal Affairs from 1955 to 1962 and then Minister of Transportation until his death in 1965.
The Bar Yehuda Airfield
was named after him, as is the road from Yagur to the HaKerayot intersection.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician.
Biography
Born Yisrael Idelson in KonotopKonotop
Konotop is a city in northern Ukraine within the Sumy Oblast. Konotop is the center of the Konotop Raion , and is located about 129 km from Sumy, the Oblast capital. It is host to Konotop air base.-History:...
in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast is an oblast in the northeastern part of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy.Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) in 1895, Bar-Yehuda attended an Academic High School and the Mine Engineering Institute in Ekaterinoslav
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
. In 1909 joined Tze'irei Zion (later to be merged into Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
) and was made a member of its central committee in Russia in 1917. He was Secretary of the Central Committee of the “Socialist Zionists”, where he met and married Beba Idelson
Beba Idelson
-Biography:Trakhtenbereg was born in Ekaterinoslav in the Russian Empire in 1895. When she was eight, her mother died giving birth to her thirteenth child and at the age of fourteen she lost her father, Yitzhak, as well, and so she, along with her grandmother and brother, had to support the family...
(whom he would later divorce). In 1922 they were arrested by the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
authorities and exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. In 1924, thanks to an intercession by Maxim Gorki's wife, their banishment was converted to deportation to Mandate Palestine. They traveled to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and from there to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by way of Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. For the next two years in Berlin they were active in establishing the World Union of Socialist Zionists and became the Movement's Secretary.
In 1926 he immigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Palestine. He was Secretary of the Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
Workers Council and organized sentries to protect Jewish workers. He also did roadwork on the 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...
-Petah Tikva road. In 1930 he joined kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Yagur
Yagur
Yagur is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Carmel about 9 km southeast of Haifa, it is one of the two largest kibbutzim in the country, with a population of 1,124 in 2008. It falls under the jurisdiction of Zevulun Regional Council....
, and became its secretary six years later. During the 1936-39 Arab revolt he was among the first to call for "active defense".
He was a delegate to the Assembly of Representatives and a member of the Constituent Assembly. He was one of the leaders of the “B” faction in Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
and one of the leaders of the Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....
after the split in 1944. From 1960 to 1962 he was secretary general of Ahdut HaAvoda.
He was elected to the first and second 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...
s for Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
and for Ahdut HaAvoda to the third through fifth. He was a member of the House, Constitution, Law and Justice, Foreign Affairs & Defense, Constitution, Law and Justice, Labor, and Finance Committees, as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee for Basic Laws
Basic Laws of Israel
The Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
. he was also Deputy Speaker of the third Knesset. He was Minister of Internal Affairs from 1955 to 1962 and then Minister of Transportation until his death in 1965.
The Bar Yehuda Airfield
Bar Yehuda Airfield
Bar Yehuda Airfield , named after Israel Bar-Yehuda, is a small desert airfield located in the southern Judean desert, between Arad and Ein Gedi, west of the Dead Sea...
was named after him, as is the road from Yagur to the HaKerayot intersection.