Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin | |
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יגאל ידין | |
Deputy Prime Minister | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1977–1978 | Democratic Movement for Change |
1978–1981 | Democratic Movement |
1981 | Independent |
Military roles | |
1949–1952 | Chief of the General Staff |
Personal details | |
Born | Yigael Sukenik, יגאל סוקניק 20 March 1917 Jerusalem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire[1] |
Died | 28 June 1984 Hadera, Israel[2] | (aged 67)
Military service | |
Allegiance | |
Years of service | 1932–52 |
Rank | Rav Aluf (highest rank)
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Battles/wars |
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Yigael Yadin (
Biography
Yigael Sukenik (later Yadin) was born in
Military career
He joined the Haganah at age 15, and served in a variety of different capacities. In 1946, he left the Haganah following an argument with its commander Yitzhak Sadeh over the inclusion of a machine gun as part of standard squad equipment.
In 1948, shortly before the State of Israel declared its independence, Yadin, interrupted his university studies to return to active service. He served as Israel's Head of Operations during the
Yadin was appointed Chief of Staff of the IDF on 9 November 1949, following the resignation of Yaakov Dori, and served in that capacity for three years. He resigned on 7 December 1952, over disagreements with then prime minister and defense minister David Ben-Gurion about cuts to the military budget, which he argued should be at least one third of the national budget.[6] By age thirty-five, he had completed his military career.
Archaeology career
Upon leaving the military, he devoted himself to research and began his life's work in archaeology. In 1956 he received the Israel Prize in Jewish studies,[7] for his doctoral thesis on the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. His father had bought three of the seven scrolls discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin goat-herd, and he had bought the other four in New York in 1954.[8]
As an archeologist, he excavated some of the most important sites in the region, including the
Even as an archaeologist, Yadin never completely abandoned public life. On the eve of the Six-Day War, he served as a military adviser to prime minister Levi Eshkol, and following the Yom Kippur War, he was a member of the Agranat Commission that investigated the actions that led to the war.
Political career
In 1976 Yadin formed the
In the
Yadin was married to Carmela (née Ruppin), who worked with him throughout his career in translating and editing his books and with whom he had two daughters, Orly and Littal. He died in 1984 and was buried in the military cemetery in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The Israeli actor Yossi Yadin was his brother.
Published works
- Views of the Biblical World. Jerusalem: International Publishing Company J-m Ltd, 1959.
- The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands. McGraw-Hill, 1963.
- Masada: Herod's Fortress and the Zealots' Last Stand. New York: Random House, 1966.
- Hazor (Schweich Lecturesfor 1970)
- The Bar Kochba Caves. (Hebrew). Maariv, 1971
- Bar-Kokhba: The Rediscovery of the Legendary Hero of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome. New York: Random House, 1971
- The Temple Scroll published posthumously London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985
Yadin published many research papers and ancient text explanations, at the
- The Sons of Light against Sons of Darkness (from the Qumran Caves), 1955
- The Message of the Scrolls, 1957
- The Hidden Scrolls, 1958
- The book of Ben Sira, 1965
- Teffilin of Head from the Qumran caves, 1969
- The Temple Scroll (from the Qumran caves), 1977
See also
References
- ^ "1984: An Archaeologist Who Brought Israel's History to Life, Dies". Haaretz. 2013-06-28.
- ^ Brooke, James (1984-06-29). "Yigael Yadin, Famed Israeli, Dies; was Archeologist and War Hero". The New York Times.
- ^ "Hasya Sukenik-Feinsod | Jewish Women's Archive".
- ^ Benny Morris, Benjamin Z. Kedar, 'Cast thy bread': Israeli biological warfare during the 1948 War Middle Eastern Studies 19 September 2022, pages =1-25 pp.2-3,4.
- ISBN 0-521-24414-5. p. 55.
- ^ Peri. p. 193.
- ^ "Israel Prize Official Site – Recipients in 1956 (in Hebrew)".
- ^ The Shrine of the Book, article in Hello Israel, no. 341, published by Tourguide, Ltd., Tel Aviv, 19-24 December 1979
- ^ Peri. Page 267.
Further reading
- Silberman, Neil A. (1994). A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin, Soldier, Scholar, and Mythmaker of Modern Israel. Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-57063-7.