David Benvenisti ( he, דוד בנבנשתי) (1897 in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

– 1993 in

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

) a descendant of a known rabbis family in

) was a geographer and educator; received the ' Israel Prize' of 1982 for his life achievements in education and geography of Israel; and the

Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim ( he, יַקִּיר יְרוּשָׁלַיִם; en, Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967. The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to o ...

in 1969. Benvenisti was married to Leah Friedman from

Suwałki Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סואוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki ...

, Poland. His sons are:

Meron Benvenisti Meron Benvenisti ( he, מירון בנבנשתי, 21 April 193420 September 2020) was an Israeli political scientist who was deputy mayor of Jerusalem under Teddy Kollek from 1971 to 1978, during which he administered East Jerusalem and served as ...

, a historian and writer who was the deputy mayor of Jerusalem for many years; and Refael (Rafi) Benvenisti, an economist and historian. His grandson is

Eyal Benvenisti Eyal Benvenisti ( he, איל בנבנשתי; born 1959) is an attorney and legal academic, and Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge. He was formerly Anny and Paul Yanowicz Professor of Human Rights at Tel Aviv Univ ...

, a professor of law at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

Biography

David Benvenisti's grandfather Shmuel Yosef was the Chief Justice of the Jewish Court in

. He Emigrated to Palestine in 1913 to pursue rabbinical studies in

. In 1918, on completing his studies at 'The Hebrew Teachers' College of Jerusalem', he enlisted in 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 ...

's Hebrew Battalion, recruited from Palestinian Jews in that same year and served during the

First World War 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 Palestine and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

until 1920. In the 1930s he established with friends the now 'Israel Youth Hostel Association'. He received an M.A. degree in Geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1935. He was a member of the Jewish Haganah organization and was wounded in the battle of the siege of

in 1948.

Pedagogic and public career

He was a teacher and a principal of an elementary school in Beit Hakerem in

for more than 40 years. During his tenure years he refused to leave his pupils for higher positions. He established with friends in 1927 the first 'Palestine Hikers Association' that organized hiking and car tours of Palestine and the

. After retirement from teaching he became in 1964 the first director general of the Ben Zvi Institute for the study of Jewish communities in the East' in

and the chairman of the Committee for Naming Roads and Streets of Jerusalem.

Literary career

Benvenisti wrote many teaching books and maps for school on the geography of Israel for many years. He wrote together with his friends one of the first guide books of Palestine after the

. He edited books and wrote many articles on the history of the Jewish Community of

. He wrote his memoirs on his childhood in

, his service in the Hebrew Battalion in the First World War, and his years as a teacher and principal of his school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benvenisti, David 1897 births 1993 deaths Israeli educators Israeli geographers Israeli people of Greek-Jewish descent Jews from Thessaloniki 20th-century geographers Greek emigrants to the Ottoman Empire