Yitzhak Ben-Zvi

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
יצחק בן־צבי
Ben-Zvi in 1952
2nd President of Israel
In office
16 December 1952 – 23 April 1963
Prime MinisterDavid Ben-Gurion
Moshe Sharett
Preceded byChaim Weizmann
Succeeded byZalman Shazar
Member of the Knesset
In office
12 February 1949 – 8 August 1952
Personal details
Born
Izaak Shimshelevich

(1884-11-24)24 November 1884
Poltava, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)
Died23 April 1963(1963-04-23) (aged 78)
Jerusalem, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Political partyMapai
SpouseRachel Yanait
Children2
Alma materIstanbul University Faculty of Law
ProfessionAuthor, Politician, Historian, Ethnologist
AwardsBialik Prize for Jewish thought
Herzl Prize of the Zionist Organization
Signature

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (Hebrew: יִצְחָק בֶּן־צְבִי‎Yitshak Ben-Tsvi; 24 November 1884 – 23 April 1963; born Izaak Shimshelevich) was a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving President of Israel. He was first elected on 8 December 1952, assumed office on 16 December 1952, and continued to serve in the position until his death.

As a scholar, Ben-Zvi conducted extensive research on Jewish communities in the Land of Israel, including those that existed before the foundation of the modern State of Israel. He preserved oral histories, gathered firsthand accounts and documentary evidence, and published a number of books and articles on the subject. He shed light on their traditions, language, folklore, and religious practices through his work, which frequently focused on the Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish as well as the Samaritan[1] communities. The Ben-Zvi Institute he founded and directed continues to be an important institution for research on Jewish communities in the Middle East.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Samaritans2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute". The Jerusalem Foundation. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Itzhak Ben-Zvi | president of Israel | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Yad Ben-Zvi Collection". www.nli.org.il. Retrieved 22 June 2023.