Meir Argov ( he, מאיר ארגוב, 1905 – 24 November 1963) was a

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 ...

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 a signatory of the

Israeli declaration of 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 ...

Biography

Born Meyer Grabovsky in

Rîbnița Rîbnița or Rybnitsa ( ro, Rîbnița or , Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: Рыбница; russian: Ры́бница, ''Rybnitsa''; uk, Ри́бниця, ''Rybnytsia''; yi, ריבניצע, ''Ribnitse'') is a town in Transnistria (''de facto'') in M ...

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 in

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

), Argov studied at a

heder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

and then at

Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

. He became involved in Zionist activism in his youth, heading the

HeHalutz HeHalutz or HeChalutz ( he, הֶחָלוּץ, lit. "The Pioneer") was a Jewish youth movement that trained young people for agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel. It became an umbrella organization of the pioneering Zionist youth moveme ...

movement in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and becoming a member of the Tzeiri Zion central committee in 1917. He was arrested for Zionist activities in 1922, and again in 1924, after which he was expelled from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In 1927 he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

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 ...

and worked in agriculture. A secretary of the

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

Workers council between 1929 and 1939, he became a member of the

Jewish National Council The Jewish National Council (JNC; he, ועד לאומי, ''Va'ad Le'umi''), also known as the Jewish People's Council was the main national executive organ of the Assembly of Representatives of the Jewish community (Yishuv) within Mandatory Pale ...

in 1930 and was elected onto Petah Tikva's municipal council in 1931. In 1940 he volunteered for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and fought in the

Jewish Brigade The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv Jews from Manda ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Argov (still under the name Grabovsky) was one of the signatories of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, and immediately joined the

Provisional State Council The Provisional State Council ( he, מועצת המדינה הזמנית, ''Moetzet HaMedina HaZmanit'') was the temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset in January 1949. It took the ...

, representing

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

. He was elected to the first Knesset in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

, and retained his seat in elections in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, serving as chair of the important

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( he, ועדת חוץ וביטחון) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over rel ...

from 1951 onwards. He died in office in 1963. His seat was taken by

Jenia Tversky Jenia Tversky (, 16 August 1904 – 9 April 1964) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapai. Biography Born Genia Gintsburg (russian: Геня Гинцбург) in 1904 in Baranovichi in the Russian Empire (now i ...

.Knesset Members in the Fifth Knesset
Knesset website

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Argov, Meir 1905 births 1963 deaths People from Rîbnița Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Mapai politicians Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Jews from the Russian Empire Soviet Jews Moldovan Jews Israeli people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence British Army personnel of World War II Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Mandatory Palestine military personnel of World War II Jewish Brigade personnel Burials at Segula Cemetery