Simha Tzabari (1913–2004) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the central committee of the illegal

Palestine Communist Party The Palestine Communist Party ( yi, פאלעסטינישע קומוניסטישע פארטיי, ''Palestinische Komunistische Partei'', abbreviated PKP; ar, الحزب الشيوعي الفلسطيني) was a political party in British Mandate ...

Early life and education

Tzabari was born in Tel Aviv in 1913, and her parents were Yemenite Jewish workers. She had five siblings, including Rahel. She attended Yehieli Girls School in the

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. O ...

neighborhood of Tel Aviv. During her studies she became a revolutionary and was trained at the Communist University of the Workers of the East in Moscow in the early 1930s. At age 21 she became a member of the central committee of the Palestinian Communist Party which had been illegally operating.

Career and activities

Tzabari worked at a factory and was a member of the Communist Youth League. She launched the Jewish branch of the Palestine Communist Party to organize activities in the cities of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

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 ...

, and Tel Aviv. However, it was closed in 1939 due to the conflicts between the group and the leadership of the party. In the 1940s she continued to be one of the leading members of the party. Following the establishment of Israel in 1948 she joined the leftist political party Mapam. She retired from politics in 1954 and attended a high school obtaining a diploma. She worked as a teacher of Arabic at a school in

Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

Personal life and death

Tzabari did not get married and had no children. She had an affair with

Radwan Al Hilu Radwan Al Hilu (1909–1975) was a Palestinian Arab politician who was the leader of the Palestine Communist Party between 1934 and 1943. He was the first Arab to hold the post and used the pseudonym ''Musa''. Biography Al Hilu was born in Jaff ...

, general secretary of the Palestine Communist Party. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2002 and died in October 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tzabari, Simha 20th-century Israeli women politicians 1913 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Tel Aviv Israeli Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent 20th-century Israeli educators Mapai politicians Palestine Communist Party politicians Communist University of the Toilers of the East alumni