Menachem Ussishkin (russian: Авраам Менахем Мендл Усышкин ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', he, מנחם אוסישקין) (August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born

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 ...

leader and head of the Jewish National Fund. Menachem Ussishkin was born in

Dubrowna Dubrowna ( Belarusian Дуброўна ''Dubroŭna''; pl, Dąbrowna) or Dubrovno (russian: Дубро́вно) is a small town on the Dnieper River. The toponym originates from a Proto-Slavic term for an oak forest, which may explain the inclusi ...

in the

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian part of 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. ...

. In 1889, he graduated as a technical engineer from Moscow State Technical University, today known as

Bauman Moscow State Technical University The Bauman Moscow State Technical University, BMSTU (russian: link=no, Московский государственный технический университет им. Н. Э. Баумана (МГТУ им. Н. Э. Баумана)), some ...

. Ussishkin was among the founders of the BILU movement and the Moscow branch of the

Hovevei Zion Hovevei Zion ( he, חובבי ציון, lit. '' hose who areLovers of Zion''), also known as Hibbat Zion ( he, חיבת ציון), refers to a variety of organizations which were founded in 1881 in response to the Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russ ...

. He also joined the Bnei Moshe society founded by Ahad HaAm. In 1891, he made his first trip to Palestine. Ussishkin served as Secretary of the

First Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני הראשון) was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization (ZO) held in Basel (Basle), from August 29 to August 31, 1897. 208 delegates and 26 press correspondents attende ...

. At the

Sixth Zionist Congress The Sixth Zionist Congress was held in Basel, opening on August 23, 1903. Theodor Herzl caused great division amongst the delegates when he presented the " Uganda Scheme", a proposed Jewish colony in what is now part of Kenya. Herzl died the follo ...

he opposed the Uganda plan. He was one of the Jewish delegates to the Paris peace conference after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1919, Ussishkin made aliyah to what was in the process of becoming

Mandatory 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 ...

on board the ship Ruslan. In 1920, he was appointed head of the Zionist Commission in Palestine. In his pamphlet "Our Program", he advocated group settlement based on

labour Zionism Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...

. Under his influence, the Zionist movement actively supported the establishment of agricultural settlements, educational and cultural institutions, and Jewish polytechnic - later the Technion. In 1923, Ussishkin was elected President of the Jewish National Fund which he headed until his death. Ussishkin was behind major land acquisitions in the Hefer, Jezreel and

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is be ...

valleys. On his 70th birthday, the

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with German-Jewish culture and ...

neighborhood council decided to change the name of the street in which he lived, Rechov Keren Kayemet Le'Israel ( Jewish National Fund) to Rechov Ussishkin, and move Rechov Keren Kayamet Le'Israel to its present location. Ussishkin died in 1941 in Jerusalem at the age of 78. He is buried in Nicanor's Cave at the botanical gardens of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on

Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( he, הַר הַצּוֹפִים ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ar, جبل المشارف ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or ) is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Je ...

Gallery

File:אוסישקין עם אדולף שטנד.-JNF043067 (cropped).jpeg, Menachem Ussishkin (seated) with Adolf Stand. pre 1919 File:Beit Usishkin P8020025.JPG, Home of Menachem Ussishkin in

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

File:ארזה - מוצא- מנחם אוסישקין נוטע עץ (ברוש אוסישקין)-JNF008311.jpeg, Menachem Ussishkin 1929 File:מנחם אוסישקין ופרופסור אלברט איינשטיין-JNF039281.jpeg, Menachem Ussishkin with

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

File:דפנה - ביקורו של אוסישקין במצודה שהוקמה על שמו-JNF039274.jpeg, Menachem Ussishkin visiting

Dafna Dafna ( he, דַּפְנָה) is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 7 km east of Kiryat Shmona. It was founded on 3 May 1939 as a Tower and Stockade settlement, and was the first Tower and Stockade-type settlement in the n ...

1 May 1939

References

External links

Menachem Ussishkin
Jewish Agency for Israel *The personal papers of Menachem Ussishkin are kept at th
Central Zionist Archives
in Jerusalem. The notation of the record group is A24. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ussishkin, Menahem 1863 births 1941 deaths Belarusian Jews Belarusian Zionists Hovevei Zion Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Mandatory Palestine people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish National Council members Labor Zionists Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) People from Dubroŭna People from Jerusalem Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Russian Zionists