BenGurion

BenGurion, commonly known as David Ben-Gurion, was a Zionist statesman who co-founded the State of Israel and served as its first prime minister. Born in 1886 in Płońsk, then part of the Russian Empire, he immigrated to Eretz Israel in the early 20th century and became a leading figure in Jewish labor and political organizations, including the Histadrut and the Jewish Agency.

During the British Mandate, Ben-Gurion led the Jewish Agency in political and security matters. In 1948, after the UN partition plan, he proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel and became its first prime minister and defense minister. He held the premiership in two terms, from 1948 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1963. His governments oversaw large-scale immigration, the creation of state institutions, and the early Israel Defense Forces; he also promoted central planning and the development of the Negev, a policy he advanced during his later years at the kibbutz of Sde Boker.

In domestic policy, Ben-Gurion supported a socialist-oriented economic framework and the rapid buildup of national institutions. He was instrumental in passaging the Law of Return in 1950, which granted Jewish immigration and citizenship to Jews from around the world. His leadership helped shape Israel’s security posture and foreign relations in the country’s formative years, though his tenure included tensions with labor movements and ongoing border challenges.

He retired from politics in the 1960s and died in 1973 in Tel Aviv. He is buried at Sde Boker in the Negev, reflecting his desert settlement program.