Ephraim Katzir was a scientist and the fourth President of the State of Israel. He was born in Kiev, Russia, in 1916 as Ephraim Katchalski. He made aliyah in 1925 and graduated from Gymnasia Rehavia high school in 1933. He was an active member of the socialist youth groups associated with the Mapai party. He studied biochemistry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and then remained there as a lecturer. He was among the first scientists to join the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot in 1949, where he headed the biophysics department. In 1959, he was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize in life sciences, and in 1966 was the first Israeli to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
From 1966 to 1969, Katzir was Chief Scientist of the Israel Defense Forces. He was elected President in 1973 and in that capacity, he hosted President Anwar Sadat of Egypt during his visit in November 1977 – the first official visit of an Arab head of state. Due to his wife's illness, he declined a second term as President, and returned to his scientific work, where he succeeded in forging close connections with Japanese scientists, at a time when Japan was cooperating with the Arab League boycott of Israel.
Quotes:
"I am neither politician nor professional statesman. Therefore, I was moved when I heard that the Knesset had elected for this prestigious position a person who spent most of his time on science and research. I have had opportunities in the past to serve my people, and I am pleased to have this further opportunity to serve the people. It is the responsibility of the President to work towards unity among the people, reducing gaps, avoiding social polarization and increasing the morality of the people." (Ephraim Katzir after being elected President)
"I have often asked myself why so many Jews from Israel and from the Diaspora come to this house, where jobs or budgets are not handed out. My explanation is: every Jew dreams of the State of Israel as it should be. They know reality well, including all its lights and shadows. That is what he discusses with the Prime Minister, with ministers, high-ranking officials and executives. They come here, to the President's Residence to talk about the dream, about the State of Israel as we'd all like it to be." (Ephraim Katzir at the end of his tenure)
"Prime Ministers should understand what security is and what the army is. But on the other hand, war is far too serious a business to rely solely on generals. Civilians should research the generals and not trust them at any cost. Golda Meir would talk about Moshe Dayan with admiration. For her, he was God, because she knew nothing about the military. Menachem Begin also didn't know enough about the army and he thought highly of the generals. When a Polish Jew sees a decorated general, he is in awe. That is why he failed, in the same way that Golda failed, and got into the Lebanon mess."
"Moshe Katzav made a grave mistake – he failed to understand that one of the most important tasks of the position is to maintain the values and the clean image of the Israeli President's residence." (About the Katzav affair, 2007)
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