Introduction
This article will cover the life of David Ben Gurion, also known as Israel’s first prime minister. Starting with David Ben Gurion’s early life, Military and Political Career, Israel’s first Prime Minister, Personal Life, and finally, his death.
Early Life
David Ben Gurion was born in Poland on the 16th of October 1886 CE to a family of Russian Ashkenazi Jews. The section of Poland his family lived in was under Russian rule. Originally David’s name was David Gruen. Early in his life, he was taught about Zionism and its importance to the Jewish people.
He was given a decent education during his childhood. His education was partly taught at the local Jewish School and mandatory Russian schools/classes. Because of this, he learned a mixture of Yiddish, Hebrew, and Russian.
At the age of 20, in 1906 he made his way to the homeland of his people, where he adopted the Hebrew version of his last name “Ben Gurion”
Military Career
Similar to other Israeli political figures and modern-day politicians in Israel, David had a military career alongside his political career. David Ben Gurion’s military career started at a young age. After moving to Israel (The British Mandate for Palestine at the time), he joined the underground Jewish fighting force called the Haganah (Ha – gah – Nah).
During this time, the British ignored violent attacks on Jews under the mandate requiring them to form various unofficial fighting forces. David would leverage his military time to leverage into an impressive Political Career.
Throughout his political career, David was an avid socialist. He Started and Joined many labor parties throughout his career and lived on a Kibbutz for most of his life.
Israel’s First Prime Minister
David Ben Gurion is most known to the world as Israel’s first Prime Minister. Alongside being the first prime minister, He is considered the Israeli equivalent of being one of its founding fathers. His name is the first name on the Israeli Declaration of Independence. He influenced the country so much that today, Israel’s only airport is named after him.
Personal Life
David Ben Gurion was known for having a charismatic personality during his life. Over his lifetime, he held citizenships for Poland, the Ottoman Empire, Mandatory Palestine, and of course, Israel.
David married Paula Munweis, also known as Paula Ben Gurion, in 1917. They had three children together and remained married until she died in 1968. David would eventually retire from Israeli Politics in 1970, but sadly passed away three years later.
David Ben Gurion’s Death
Shortly after the Yom Kippur war, David suffered from a brain hemorrhage. He was rushed to a hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel, where he passed away a few weeks later.
The official reason given for his death was a stroke. Ben Gurion’s death ended a lifelong career in Zionism and helping the Jewish people.
David played such an important and central role in Israeli History that his face has become a type of Icon for Israelis and Jews worldwide.
Israeli Coins
Israel has so many coins, both Modern and Ancient. Below is a link to all of our current modern Israel Silver coins we have in stock.
Israel Silver Coins
These are all the Non-Certified and Certified Israel Silver coins we currently have for sale. If you would like to read about the history of Israel, we recommend reading our blog post: “Israel: Democracy Of The Middle East.”
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