Meir Pa'il ( he, מאיר פעיל; 19 June 1926 – 15 September 2015) was a colonel in the
Israel Defense Forces, 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 19 ...
. Pa'il studied at the Tahkemoni school in Jerusalem, a school for laborer's children in
Holon, 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 ...
. He joined the "Working Youth" movement in 1937 and served in an active signal unit for the
Haganah.
Pa'il served in 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 l ...
, and an attack on a British police position on Mount Canaan. During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War, 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 f ...
. Pa'il served as a career officer in the IDF, commanding the 51st Battalion during the
Suez Crisis, 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, 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, which Pa'il headed.
He was elected to the Knesset in the
1973 elections on the
Moked 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 prior to the
1977 elections. 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.
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
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