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October 16 1886 – December 1 1973
Terms of office:
May 14 1948 – January 26 1954
November 3 1955 – June 26 1963
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David Josef Green (Ben-Gurion) was born on October 16, 1886, in Plonsk, Poland and studied at a Hebrew School established by his father. At the age of 17, he joined the socialist 'Poalei Tzion' movement. In 1906, he immigrated to the Land of Israel and worked as a laborer in the Jewish settlements. In 1910, at a 'Poalei Tzion' conference, he was elected, along with Yitzchak Ben Zvi and Rachel Yanait, as a member of the editorial board of "Ha'ahdut' newspaper, in which his first article signed "Ben-Gurion" was published. Ben-Gurion was one of the founders of the 'Hashomer' Organization for Self Defense. In 1912, he studied law at Istanbul University in Turkey. World War I broke out while he was on academic leave in the Land of Israel. In 1915, Ben-Gurion and Ben-Zvi were deported by the Ottoman rulers. They were exiled to Alexandria and from there they moved on to New York where they founded the 'Hehalutz' movement. In 1917, Ben-Gurion married Paula Monbaz. The couple had three children: Geula, Amos and Renana. |
Following the British conquest of the Land of Israel, Ben-Gurion and Ben-Zvi spurred the volunteer movement for the Hebrew Regiments, and were among its first volunteers. In 1918, they reached Egypt, and from there the Land of Israel as members of the Hebrew Regiments of the British Army. In the same year, Ben-Gurion, along with Berl Katznelson, became active in the labor movement. Between 1920 and 1935 Ben-Gurion was a founding member and Secretary-General of the Labor Federation in the Land of Israel. In 1935, he was elected Chairman of the Jewish Agency, a position he filled until he was elected Chairman of the People's Administration on the eve of the founding of the State. Ben-Gurion played a central role in uniting 'Ahdut Ha'avoda' and 'Hapoel Hatzair' into the Labor Party of the Land of Israel (Mapai), which was the largest and most dominant party during the first three decades of the State. |
In 1939, with the publication of the White Paper, the British restricted immigration and Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. Ben-Gurion implemented a strategy of increasing illegal immigration and establishing Jewish settlements in locations prohibited by British rule. In 1942, Ben-Gurion initiated the Biltmore Conference, which approved the "Biltmore Plan", which formulated for the first time a claim for establishing a Jewish political entity in the Land of Israel. On Friday May 14, 1948, the last day of the British Mandate, Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. With the founding of the State he served as head of the temporary government and later as Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, until his final resignation from the government in June 1963 (except for the period between September 1953 and November 1955). |
During the War of Independence, Ben-Gurion directed the war, and during the first years of the State he worked diligently to shape the strength and image of the IDF from an underground organization to an organized state army. During these years, Ben-Gurion invested the majority of the state's resources in the mass immigration which doubled the Jewish population of Israel, abolished the separate education systems (except for the independent Haredi system), initiated the construction of the national water conduit, handled the reparation agreements with Germany, formulated pro-Western policies and acted to gain recognition of Israel by as many countries as possible. |
| In 1954, Ben-Gurion resigned as Prime Minister and joined Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev, calling on young people to follow in his footsteps and inhabit the Negev. At the beginning of 1955, he returned to serve as Minister of Defense, and was re-elected Prime Minister in November. In October 1956, the Suez Crisis broke out in a reprisal for Egyptian terrorist activities. Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula, but was forced to withdraw under pressure from the superpowers. In 1963, at the age of 77, David Ben-Gurion resigned from Government for the second time, in the shadow of the Lavon Affair, which was the result of a failed intelligence gathering operation in Egypt in 1954 (the "Nasty Business"). In 1965, he participated in the establishment of the 'Reshimat Poalei Israel' - 'Rafi' Party, and was elected to the sixth Knesset as a member. Rafi was established following the demands to fully investigate the "Affair". Ben-Gurion retired from the Knesset and from politics in 1970, at the age of 84, and dedicated his time to writing his memoirs. |
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David Ben-Gurion died on December 1, 1973, and was buried in his chosen plot in Sde Boker, near his wife.
His Books include: “Memoirs” (1973-1975), “Dispatches of David Ben-Gurion” (1971-1974), “Letters to Paula and the Children” (1958), “My Father’s House” (1966), “Ideology and Zionist Policy” (1978), “From Position to People” (1974), “The Renewed State of Israel” (1974), “My Talks With Arab Leaders” (1975), “War Diary: the War of Independence – 1948-1949” (1982), “Uniqueness and Purpose – Words to and on the IDF” (1971), “The Sinai Campaign” (1960) and “Things as They Are” (1965).
The Ben Gurion Research Center | | | |