Hana Meisel ( he, חנה מייזל, born 25 December 1883, died 1972) was a Jewish

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

, feminist and

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a 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 known in Je ...

Life

Meisel was born in Grodno 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. ...

(today Hrodna in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

), and immigrated to Palestine in 1909, during the

Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah ( he, העלייה השנייה, ''HaAliyah HaShniya'') was an aliyah (Jewish emigration to Palestine) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman-ruled Palestine, mos ...

, where she became a noted agronomist. Meisel was a founder of ''Havat HaAlamot'' ( he, חוות העלמות, "the maidens' farm") agricultural school at

Kinneret Farm Kinneret Farm ( he, חוות כנרת, ''Havat Kinneret'') or Kinneret Courtyard ( he, חצר כנרת, ''Hatzer Kinneret'') was an experimental training farm established in 1908 in Ottoman Palestine by the Palestine Bureau of the Zionist Organi ...

in 1911 (closed in 1917), and of the agricultural school for girls at

Nahalal Nahalal ( he, נַהֲלָל) is a moshav in northern Israel. Covering 8.5 square kilometers, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of . Nahalal is best known for its general layout, as ...

(opened in 1929). She studied agriculture and natural science in Odessa, Switzerland and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Meisel made considerable contributions to the feminist wing of the

movement. She was a member of

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

and was elected to the Assembly of Representatives. She was married to Eliezer Shohat, also a well-known figure in the Zionist movement, much like his brother

Israel Shochat Israel Shochat (;1886–1962) was a founder of and a key figure in Bar-Giora and Hashomer, two of the precursors of the Israel Defense Forces. Biography Russia and Germany Israel Shochat was born in 1886 in Lyskovo, in the Grodno Governorate of t ...

. Hana Meisel died at

in 1972.

In literature

Meisel is referenced in

Shmuel Yosef Agnon Shmuel Yosef Agnon ( he, שמואל יוסף עגנון; July 17, 1888 – February 17, 1970) was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon (). In English, his works are published und ...

's fictionalized travelogue of the

''HaGalilah'' (in English as "To the Galilee"), published in his posthumous volume ''Pithei Devarim''.

References

External links

*Esther Carmel-Hakim. "Hannah Maisel-Shohat". Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on January 9, 2016

* 1890 births 1972 deaths People from Grodno Belarusian Jews Jews in Ottoman Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Jewish scientists Israeli feminists Israeli educators Israeli women educators Israeli Jews Jewish feminists Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) 20th-century Israeli women politicians Women agronomists 20th-century women scientists Zionists Jewish women scientists 20th-century agronomists {{agri-stub