Eri Jabotinsky (, also transliterated ''Ari'', 26 December 1910 – 6 June 1969) was a

Revisionist Zionist Revisionist Zionism is an ideology developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who advocated a "revision" of the "practical Zionism" of David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann which was focused on the settling of ''Eretz Yisrael'' ( Land of Israel) by independent ...

activist,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician and academic mathematician. He was the son of

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leade ...

, the founder of the opposition movement within

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

at the time, and later served in the Knesset between 1949 and 1951, as a member of the opposition

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

party of

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

. Following his break with the party, he pursued his academic career.

Biography

Jabotinsky was born in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1910. In 1919, the family

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

to British-controlled Palestine. Following the arrest of his father the following year, he moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, attending high school in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and later earning a degree in electrical engineering. Between 1933 and 1935 he worked as an engineer in an aircraft factory. In 1935 he returned to Palestine, and worked as an engineer at the

Naharayim Naharayim ( he, נַהֲרַיִים literally "Two rivers"), historically the Jisr Majami area ( ar, جسر المجامع literally "Meeting bridge" area), where the Yarmouk River flows into the Jordan River, was named by the Palestine Ele ...

power station in the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

. A long-term member of Revisionism's

Betar The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...

youth movement, he became one of its representative leaders in 1936, and joined its worldwide board two years later. With Betar and the party's military wing,

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

, he helped coordinate illegal Jewish immigration into Palestine; he was arrested by the British authorities in 1940. Upon his release he moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where his father died suddenly about the same time. There, together with

Hillel Kook Hillel Kook ( he, הלל קוק, 24 July 1915 –18 August 2001), also known as Peter Bergson (Hebrew: פיטר ברגסון), was a Revisionist Zionist activist and politician. Kook led the Irgun's efforts in the United States during World ...

's 'Bergson Boys',

Aryeh Ben-Eliezer Aryeh Ben-Eliezer ( he, אריה בן אליעזר, 16 December 1913 – 29 January 1970) was a Revisionist Zionist leader, Irgun member and Israeli politician. Biography Aryeh Ben-Eliezer (born Lipa Zabrowsky) was born in Vilnius in the R ...

Shmuel Merlin Shmuel Merlin ( he, שמואל מרלין , 1910 – 4 October 1994) was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Irgun member and Israeli politician. Biography Merlin was born in Kishinev in the Russian Empire (now Moldova), where he attended high schoo ...

and Yitzhak Ben-Ami, they founded the Emergency Committee to Save European Jewry, among others. He briefly returned to Palestine, but was again arrested by the British and expelled for illegal activities in 1944. Following

Israel's independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

, he returned in 1948, and was elected to the

first Knesset Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...

the following year, as a member of the

party's list of candidates. On 20 February 1951 however, Jabotinsky and Hillel Kook left Herut, and sat as independents for the rest of the term, although the move was not recognised by the house committee;Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups
Knesset website this followed on-going disagreements over the party’s direction and its new leadership by

. After leaving the Knesset, he was awarded a PhD in mathematics in 1957 from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He also lectured on electricity theory at the Technion between 1955 and his death in 1969. He was the father-in-law of Anatoly Rubin.

Academic publications

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jabotinsky, Ari 1910 births 1969 deaths Odesa Jews Ukrainian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli engineers Israeli educators Israeli Jews Technion – Israel Institute of Technology faculty Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni 20th-century Israeli mathematicians Ze'ev Jabotinsky Betar members Herut politicians Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951)