Levi Eshkol לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל
3rd Prime Minister of Israel
In office 21 June 1963 – 26 February 1969
Preceded by	David Ben-Gurion
Succeeded by	Yigal Allon (Acting)
Personal details
Born	Levi Shkolnik (1895-10-25)25 October 1895 Oratov, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	26 February 1969(1969-02-26) (aged 73) Jerusalem, Israel
Political party	Mapai, Alignment
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Maharshek (divorced 1927) Elisheva Eshkol(d. 1959) Miriam Eshkol (until his death)
Children	4
Religion	Judaism
Signature

 Levi Eshkol (help·info) (Hebrew: לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל‎‎, born Levi Shkolnik (Hebrew: לֵוִי שׁקוֹלנִיק‎‎) 25 October 1895 – died 26 February 1969) served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.

Biography[link]

Levi Eshkol (Shkolnik) was born in the village of Oratov, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (now Orativ, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine). His mother (born as Dvora Krasnyansky) came from a Hasidic background and his father (Joseph Shkolnik) came from a family of Mitnagdim. Levi received a traditional education.

In 1914, he left for Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire. He was a leading member of the Judea Workers' Union in 1915–17 and volunteered for the Jewish Legion in World War I.

Eshkol joined Kibbutz Deganya Bet and married Rivka Maharshek. They divorced shortly after the birth of their daughter, Noa, in 1924. Eshkol's second wife was Elisheva Kaplan, with whom he had three daughters, Dvora, Ofra, and Tama.^[1]

Political career[link]

Levi Eshkol (right), Israel's Finance Minister, meeting with Arthur Levitt Sr. (left), New York State Comptroller (1959)

Levi Eshkol with Shimon Peres (1963–68)

After the establishment of the State of Israel, Eshkol was elected to the Knesset in 1951 as a member of Mapai party. He served as Minister of Agriculture until 1952, when he was appointed Finance Minister following the death of Eliezer Kaplan. He held that position for the following 12 years. During his term as Finance Minister, Eshkol established himself as a prominent figure in Mapai's leadership, and was designated by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion as his successor.

When Ben-Gurion resigned in June 1963, Eshkol was elected party chairman with a broad consensus, and was subsequently appointed Prime Minister. However, his relationship with Ben-Gurion soon turned acrimonious over the latter's insistence on investigating the Lavon Affair, an Israeli covert operation in Egypt, which had gone wrong a decade earlier. Ben-Gurion failed to challenge Eshkol's leadership and split from Mapai with a few of his young protégés to form Rafi in June 1965. In the meantime, Mapai merged with Ahdut HaAvoda to form the Alignment with Eshkol as its head. Rafi was defeated by the Alignment in the elections held in November 1965, establishing Eshkol as the country's indisputable leader. Yet Ben-Gurion, drawing on his influence as Israel's founding father, continued to undermine Eshkol's authority throughout his term as Prime Minister, portraying him as a spineless politician incapable of addressing Israel's security predicament.

Prime minister[link]

Eshkol's first term in office saw continuous economic growth, epitomized by the opening of the National Water Carrier system in 1964. His and Finance Minister Pinchas Sapir's subsequent "soft landing" of the overheated economy by means of recessive policies precipitated a drastic slump in economic activity. Israel's centralized planned economy lacked the mechanisms to self-regulate the slowdown, which reached levels higher than expected. Eshkol faced growing domestic unrest as unemployment reached 12% in 1966, yet the recession eventually served in healing fundamental economic deficiencies and helped fuel the ensuing recovery of 1967–1973.

Upon being elected into office, Levi Eshkol fulfilled Ze'ev Jabotinsky's wish and brought his body and that of his wife to Israel where they were buried in Mount Herzl Cemetery.

Eshkol worked to improve Israel's foreign relations, establishing diplomatic relations with West Germany in 1965, as well as cultural ties with the Soviet Union, which also allowed some Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister invited on an official state visit to the United States in May 1964. The special relationship he developed with President Lyndon Johnson would prove pivotal in securing US political and military support for Israel during the "Waiting period" preceding the Six Day War of June 1967.^[2]

Today, Eshkol's intransigence in the face of military pressure to launch an Israeli attack is considered to have been instrumental in increasing Israel's strategic advantage as well as obtaining international legitimacy, yet at the time he was perceived as hesitant, an image cemented following a stuttered radio speech on 28 May.^[3] With Egyptian President Nasser's ever more overt provocations, he eventually succumbed to public opinion and established a National Unity Government together with Menachem Begin's Herut party, reluctantly conceding the Defense portfolio to war hero Moshe Dayan, a close ally of Ben-Gurion's and a member of his Rafi party. Israel's overwhelming victory allowed Eshkol to remain Prime Minister despite never receiving recognition for his role in achieving it.

Death[link]

In the years following the war Eshkol slowly receded due to ill health, and died of a heart attack while in office in February 1969. He was 73.

Commemoration and recognition[link]

Image on Israel's 5 sheqel note

The Eshkol National Park near Beersheba has been named after him as well as the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood in Jerusalem.

In 2005, he was voted the 86th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[4]

See also[link]

• Eshkol Regional Council
• Eshkol Power Station
• HaKfar HaYarok

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Avner, Yehuda, The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership (2010). A first-hand account by Eshkol's English speechwriter. ISBN 978-1-59264-278-6
• Dov Medved, Levi Eshkol, State and Party, 1948–1953, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 2004 (Hebrew with English summary).

External links[link]

• Levi Eshkol Knesset website
• Levi Eshkol's biography Knesset website (English)
• Short Biography of Levi Eshkol from the Jewish Virtual Library
• The Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem site. Office of Levi Eshkol, Jerusalem (S43), Office of Levi Eshkol, Tel Aviv (S63).
• NNDB entry on Levi Eshkol
• "Levi Eshkol, Forgotten Hero" – Essay from Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation

v t e Prime Ministers of Israel Ben-Gurion (1948–53) Sharett (1953–55) Ben-Gurion (1955–63) Eshkol (1963–69) Allon (acting) Meir (1969–74) Rabin (1974–77) Begin (1977–83) Shamir (1983–84) Peres (1984–86) Shamir (1986–92) Rabin (1992–95) Peres (1995–96) Netanyahu (1996–99) Barak (1999–2001) Sharon (2001–06) Olmert (2006–09) Netanyahu (2009–present)

v t e Agriculture and Rural Development Ministers of Israel Zisling (1948–49) Yosef (1949–50) Lavon (1950–51) Eshkol (1951–52) Naftali (1952–55) Luz (1955–59) Dayan (1959–64) Gvati (1964–74) Uzan (1974–77) Sharon (1977–81) Erlich (1981–83) Begin (1983) Grupper (1983–84) Nehemkin (1984–88) Katz-Oz (1988–90) Eitan (1990–91) Tzur (1992–96) Eitan (1996–99) Oron (1999–2000) Barak (2000–01) Simhon (2001–02) Livni (2002–03) Katz (2003–06) Boim (2006) Simhon (2006–11) Noked (2011–)

v t e Defense Ministers of Israel Ben-Gurion (1948–54) Lavon (1954–55) Ben-Gurion (1955–63) Eshkol (1963–67) Dayan (1967–74) Peres (1974–77) Weizman (1977–80) Begin (1980–81) Sharon (1981–83) Arens (1983–84) Rabin (1984–90) Shamir (1990) Arens (1990–92) Rabin (1992–95) Peres (1995–96) Mordechai (1996–99) Arens (1999) Barak (1999–2001) Ben-Eliezer (2001–02) Mofaz (2002–06) Peretz (2006–07) Barak (2007–)

v t e Finance Ministers of Israel Kaplan (1948–52) Eshkol (1952–63) Sapir (1963–68) Sherf (1968–69) Sapir (1969–74) Rabinovitz (1974–77) Erlich (1977–79) Hurvitz (1979–81) Aridor (1981–83) Cohen-Orgad (1983–84) Moda'i (1984–86) Nissim (1986–88) Peres (1988–90) Shamir (1990) Moda'i (1990–92) Shochat (1992–96) Meridor (1996–97) Netanyahu (1997) Ne'eman (1997–98) Netanyahu (1998–99) Sheetrit (1999) Shochat (1999–2001) Shalom (2001–03) Netanyahu (2003–05) Olmert (2005–06) Hirschson (2006–07) Bar-On (2007–09) Steinitz (2009–)

v t e Housing and Construction Ministers of Israel Yoseftal (1961–62) Almogi (1962–65) Eshkol (1965–66) Bentov (1966–69) Sherf (1969–74) Rabinovitz (1974) Ofer (1974–77) Rosen (1977) Patt (1977–79) Levy (1979–90) Sharon (1990–92) Ben-Eliezer (1992–96) Netanyahu (1996–99) Levy (1999–2000) Ben-Eliezer (2000–01) Sharansky (2001–03) Eitam (2003–04) Livni (2004–05) Herzog (2005) Boim (2006) Sheetrit (2006–07) Boim (2007–09) Atias (2009–)

Yehuda Avner
Born	Yehuda Haffner (1928-12-30)December 30, 1928 Manchester, England
Occupation	Israeli Prime Ministerial Advisor & Diplomat
Notable work(s)	The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership (2010) The Young Inheritors: A Portrait of Israel's Children (1982)
www.yehudaavner.com

Yehuda Avner (born 1928) is an Israeli former prime ministerial advisor and diplomat. He served as personal secretary and speechwriter to Israeli Prime Ministers Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Golda Meir and Levi Eshkol, and as Israeli Ambassador to Australia and the United Kingdom.

Early Years[link]

Yehuda Avner (originally Haffner) was born in Manchester, England in 1928. He was active in the Religious-Zionist youth movement, Bnei Akiva, and was committed to helping build a Jewish State in Palestine. In his book The Prime Ministers, he recalled the antisemitism he saw and experienced in Britain, including antisemitic rioting in the aftermath of the Sergeants affair. Upon high school graduation in 1947, moved to Jerusalem, then part of British Mandatory Palestine to participate in the second Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz.

Avner fought in the Siege of Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1949, he was amongst the founders of Kibbutz Lavi, a religious kibbutz located in Israel's Galilee region. He temporarily moved back to Britain to work for the Bnei Akiva movement as National Director (Mazkir) before returning to Israel in 1954.

Professional Life[link]

Avner returned to and settled in Jerusalem in 1956 and joined the Israeli Foreign Service in 1958.^[1] For the next 25 years, he was seconded to the Prime Minister's office and worked for five Israeli prime ministers: as Speechwriter and Secretary to Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as Advisor to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, and Shimon Peres. As a top political aide, Avner was privy to the inside workings of Israel's prime minister's office, and was present for major decision-making moments related to military operations and diplomatic negotiations, including Operation Entebbe, Operation Opera, the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

Avner also served in diplomatic positions at the Israeli Consulate in New York City, and the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. In 1983, he was appointed Ambassador to Britain and Non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland. He returned to Israel in 1988, before serving as Ambassador to Australia between 1992 and 1995.

Published Work[link]

In 1992, Avner, together with photographer Gemma Levine, published The Young Inheritors: A Portrait of Israel's Children. In 2010, he authored The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership, in which he shares his first-hand experiences working with Israel's political leaders. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the book "...a sweeping tome of Israeli politics and history." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu described it as "...a fascinating account of someone who was an eye witness to many historic moments in the history of the Jewish state...provid[ing] insight into the actions of our nation’s leaders and offer[ing] important lessons for the future." The Jerusalem Post called the book "the ultimate insider's account".^[2] In October 2011, Moriah Films, the film division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center acquired rights to produce a documentary based on the book, and Crystal City Entertainment optioned the book for a dramatic production.

Honors[link]

In 1995, the Yehuda Avner Chair in Religion and Politics was established at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.^[3] Avner is a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs^[4] and a member of the Ambassadorial Appointments Committee. In addition, he is a member of the International Advisory Board of NGO Monitor^[5] He will receieve an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University and will present the keynote address at its 81st Commencement in May 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

• www.yehudaavner.com The official website of Yehuda Avner
• www.tobypress.com The Toby Press website
• www.jpost.com The Jerusalem Post interview
• www.bloomberg.com Bloomberg News article
• www.tabletmag.com Tablet interview
• www.thejewishweek.com The Jewish Week interview