1st Israel Prime Minister. Born in Poland, he emigrated to what is now Israel in 1906, helping to found the first of many Jewish agricultural communes (later known as the "kibbutz") and also assisting in the establishment of the Hashomer, a group dedicated to Jewish defense. Deported by the Ottoman government in 1915, he worked in the New York Zionist-Socialist movement until 1918, when he returned to the now British-controlled area, designated in 1920 by the League of Nations as a "home for the Jewish People". He agitated for Israeli Statehood though the 1920s to the 1940s, while remaining mindful of the need to compromise with the resident Arab population. During World War II, he enlisted tens of thousands of young Jews from Palestine to join the British army in fighting the Nazis. This did little, however, to change British limits on emigration to the area, prompting a clandestine movement to smuggle refugees. Acting on the United Nations' 1947 resolution to establish the State of Israel, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israeli independence in 1948. In the resultant Arab-Israeli conflict, he became the dominant figure in Israeli politics, serving as Prime Minister from 1948 to 1953 and again from 1955 to 1963. During these tenures he encouraged massive emigration, secured the new country's borders, and seized the Sinai Peninsula in 1956. He retired from public service in 1970.
1st Israel Prime Minister. Born in Poland, he emigrated to what is now Israel in 1906, helping to found the first of many Jewish agricultural communes (later known as the "kibbutz") and also assisting in the establishment of the Hashomer, a group dedicated to Jewish defense. Deported by the Ottoman government in 1915, he worked in the New York Zionist-Socialist movement until 1918, when he returned to the now British-controlled area, designated in 1920 by the League of Nations as a "home for the Jewish People". He agitated for Israeli Statehood though the 1920s to the 1940s, while remaining mindful of the need to compromise with the resident Arab population. During World War II, he enlisted tens of thousands of young Jews from Palestine to join the British army in fighting the Nazis. This did little, however, to change British limits on emigration to the area, prompting a clandestine movement to smuggle refugees. Acting on the United Nations' 1947 resolution to establish the State of Israel, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israeli independence in 1948. In the resultant Arab-Israeli conflict, he became the dominant figure in Israeli politics, serving as Prime Minister from 1948 to 1953 and again from 1955 to 1963. During these tenures he encouraged massive emigration, secured the new country's borders, and seized the Sinai Peninsula in 1956. He retired from public service in 1970.
Bio by: Stuthehistoryguy
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