Meir Pa'il ( he, מאיר פעיל; 19 June 1926 – 15 September 2015) was a colonel in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
, an Israeli politician, and military historian.
Biography
Meir Pilevsky (later Pa'il) was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
during the
Mandate era. His parents, Nahum and Bracha Pilevsky, were pioneers of the
Third Aliyah
The Third Aliyah ( he, העלייה השלישית, ''HaAliyah HaShlishit'') refers to the third wave—or aliyah—of modern Jewish immigration to Palestine from Europe. This wave lasted from 1919, just after the end of World War I, until 1923, ...
. Pa'il studied at the Tahkemoni school in Jerusalem, a school for laborer's children in
Holon
Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...
, and at Balfour high school 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 ...
. He joined the "Working Youth" movement in 1937 and served in an active signal unit for the
Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
.
Pa'il served in the
Palmach
The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...
from 1943 to 1948. He participated in a series of operations, including the smuggling of illegal Jewish immigrants from Syria and Lebanon, the
Saison
Saison ( French, "season," ) is a pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned. It was historically brewed with low alcohol levels, but modern productions of the style have moderate to high levels of alcohol. ...
, the
Night of the Bridges
The Night of the Bridges (formally Operation Markolet) was a Haganah venture on the night of 16 to 17 June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine, as part of the Jewish insurgency in Palestine (1944–7). Its aim was to destroy eleven bridges li ...
, and an attack on a British police position on Mount Canaan. During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, Pa'il served in the
Negev Brigade
The 12th Negev Brigade ( he, חטיבת הנגב, ''Hativat HaNegev'') is an Israeli reserve infantry brigade under the Sinai Division, that originally served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
History
Founding and organization
The brigade was fou ...
. Pa'il served as a career officer in the IDF, commanding the 51st Battalion during the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
, the Bahad-1 officers school from 1964 to 1966, and the Department of Military Theory for the General Staff. He left the IDF in 1971.
Pa'il studied history and Middle Eastern studies at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, later gaining a doctorate in military and general history. In 1973, he was among the founders of the
Blue-Red Movement Siah ( he, שי"ח, an acronym for ''Smol Israeli Hadash'', ( he, שמאל ישראלי חדש, "Israeli New Left")) was an Israeli left-wing group active between 1968 and 1973. Reuven Kaminer describes them as "the major force of the student left i ...
, which merged with
Maki
Maki may refer to:
People
*Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name)
*Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name)
Places
*Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran
*Maki, Rigan, Ke ...
to form
Moked
Moked ( he, מוקד, lit. "Focus") was a left-wing political party in Israel.
Background
Moked came into existence during the seventh Knesset, when Maki (which had one seat, held by Shmuel Mikunis) merged with the Blue-Red Movement, which was ...
, which Pa'il headed.
He was elected to the Knesset in the
1973 elections on the
Moked
Moked ( he, מוקד, lit. "Focus") was a left-wing political party in Israel.
Background
Moked came into existence during the seventh Knesset, when Maki (which had one seat, held by Shmuel Mikunis) merged with the Blue-Red Movement, which was ...
list, and was the party's only representative in the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
. The party merged with several others to form the
Left Camp of Israel
The Left Camp of Israel ( he, מחנה שמאל לישראל, ''Maḥaneh Smol LeYisrael'') was a Israeli left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli ( he, של"י), an ...
prior to the
1977 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1977.
Africa
* 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election
* 1977 Algerian legislative election
* 1977 Gambian general election
* 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election
* 1977 Malagasy ...
. The new party won two seats, which were rotated between five party members including Pa'il. However, they failed to win any seats in the
1981 elections and Pa'il did not reappear in the Knesset. He died on September 15, 2015, due to complications of
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
.
Published works
*''Political and Military Reflections in the Wake of the War of October 1973''. Tel Aviv: Israel Peace Research Society, 1974.
*''From the Hagana to the IDF'' (1979) (Hebrew)
*''The West Bank and Gaza: A Strategic Analysis for Peace''. Tel-Aviv: New Outlook, 1981.
*''Development of Jewish Defense Capabilities, 1907–1948'' (1987) (Hebrew)
*''Independence 1948'' (1990) (Hebrew)
*''Rift in 1948'' (1990)
*''The Palmach'' (1995) (Hebrew)
*'' From Hashomer to the Israel Defence Forces: Armed Jewish Defense in Palestine''. Jerusalem: Israel Information Center, 1997.
*''The Commander: Temperate Military Leadership'' (2003) (Hebrew)
*''Meirke - Meir Pa'il: Commander, Educator, Historian, Politician - Autobiography and Selected Texts''. (2014) (Hebrew)
References
External links
*
1926 births
2015 deaths
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Deaths from dementia in Israel
Israeli colonels
Israeli historians
Israeli Jews
Israeli military historians
Jewish historians
Left Camp of Israel politicians
Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977)
Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981)
Moked politicians
Palmach members
People from Jerusalem
Tel Aviv University alumni
Jewish socialists
{{Israel-politician-stub