Zvi Yanai (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: צבי ינאי ; June 9, 1935 – December 16, 2013) was an Israeli civil servant and author.

Biography

Sandro Toth (later Zvi Yanai) was born in

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

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 ...

. His father was a baritone singer from Budapest and his mother was a prima ballerina from Gratz, Austria. They were not married. His father was Christian and his mother was Jewish. He was raised as a Protestant but converted to Catholicism in 1942 and studied for the priesthood. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine at the age of 10 and was sent to Kibbutz

Ramat David Ramat David ( he, רָמַת דָּוִד, ''lit.'' David Heights) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley near Ramat David Airbase, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In it had a population ...

. He later served in the Israel Defense Forces and worked at IBM-Israel for many years. Yanai became a self-described atheist, but nevertheless felt a strong connection to Jewish history and thought. Yanai was head of Israel's Ministry of Science in 1993–1997, and editor of the periodical ''Mahshavot'' (Thoughts). Some of the ministry's programs continue to function due to his initiatives. His then-innovative ideas to bring the general public closer to science will continue to be the basis for many of our activities in the future,” Peri said. Yanai was a “pioneer who opened up the world of science to the layman. His work can still be identified in popular culture today,” he concluded.The other life of Zvi Yanai
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanai, Zvi 1935 births 2013 deaths Israeli writers Israeli people of Hungarian descent Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Italian emigrants to Israel