Joseph Bentwich ( he, 'יוסף בנטוויץ; 3 February 1902 – 1982) was a British-Israeli educator.

Biography

Bentwich was born in 1902 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. His father was

Herbert Bentwich Herbert Bentwich (originally Bentwitch; 1856 in Whitechapel – 1932 in Jerusalem) was a British Zionist leader and lawyer. He was an authority on copyright law, and owner/editor of the Law Journal for many years. He was a leading member of the ...

, a lawyer and a leading British

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 ...

and his mother was Suzannah Bentwich (née Solomon). From 1920 to 1923, Bentwich studied at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and, from 1923 to 1924, at an educational institute of

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

In 1924, he settled in

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

. Until 1928, he taught at

The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium ( he, הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, ''HaGymnasia HaIvrit Herzliya'', Also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High Scho ...

, in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, and at

Hebrew Reali School , motto_translation = ''Walk Humbly'' , address = Hertzel 16 , city = Haifa , zipcode = 3312103 , country = Israel , coordinates = , other_name ...

, in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. Bentwich was then appointed an inspector of schools for the Mandate Government, and from 1943 to 1948 was an assistant director of the Department of Education.Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971 Edition. Volume 4. pp 555–556 In 1948, following the resignation of

Arthur Biram Arthur Yitzhak Biram (Hebrew: ארתור בירם; August 13, 1878 – June 5, 1967) was a German–Israeli philosopher, philologist, and educator. Biography Biram was born in Bischofswerda in Saxony in 1878 and attended school in Hirsch ...

, Bentwich was appointed as his replacement as principal of the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, a position he held until 1955. 1955 to 1958, he was a lecturer in education at 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 ...

. Bentwich was a leader of the Amanah (Covenant) group, established to study and promote new interpretations of Judaism.

Awards

* In 1962, Bentwich was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for education.

Printed works

* ''Education in Israel'', 1965 * ''Yalkut ha-Datot'' (Anthology of Religions), editor, 1964 * ''Yahadut, Mikra'ah'' (Judaism, a Reader), editor, 1967 He also published several textbook for teaching English and mathematics.

Family

Bentwich had ten siblings, seven of whom eventually settled permanently in Israel. His eldest brother,

Norman Bentwich Norman de Mattos Bentwich (28 February 1883 – 8 April 1971) was a British barrister and legal academic. He was the British-appointed attorney-general of Mandatory Palestine and a lifelong Zionist. Biography Early life Norman Bentwich was th ...

, was a leading British lawyer, who also spent much of his professional life Mandate Palestine and Israel. Another sibling was Thelma Yellin, a renowned cellist and active pioneer of the musical life of Mandate Palestine. In 1924, Bentwich married Sarah Yaffe (the daughter of

Hillel Yaffe Hillel Yaffe (1864–1936) ( he, הלל יפה) was a Russian Jewish physician and Zionist leader who immigrated to Palestine during the First Aliyah. He was instrumental in curing malaria among the Jewish population of Palestine in the early 20th ...

). They had four children; one of them is Professor Zvi Bentwich, virologist and a world-renowned expert in the treatment of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

; another is Rachel Shavit, whose son is the journalist

Ari Shavit Ari Shavit (; born 16 November 1957) is an Israeli reporter and writer. Shavit was a senior correspondent at the left-of-center Israeli newspaper '' Haaretz'' before he resigned when a pattern of sexual misconduct came to public attention. A s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentwich, Joseph 1902 births 1982 deaths Date of death missing Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of London British emigrants to Mandatory Palestine British Jews Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel Prize in education recipients 20th-century Israeli Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Schoolteachers from London

Biography

Awards

Printed works

Family

See also

References