Avraham Katznelson (; 1888 – 18 May 1956), later known as Avraham Nissan, was a physician and Zionist political figure in Mandate Palestine. He was a signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

Biography

Katznelson was born in Bobruisk in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

) to Nissan HaCohen and Zelda Helena (née Rozovsky). He was the brother of Yosef, Reuven (father of Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir), Shmuel and

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...

Katznelson (the wife of president Zalman Shazar). He studied in a heder and gymnasium and later attended the Jewish Studies Academy in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

as well as Saint Petersburg University and Moscow University.Martin Gilbert (1973). ''Sir Horace Rumbold; Portrait of a Diplomat: 1869-1941'', , p. 416. He also studied at the Academy of Social Hygiene in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1912 he earned a doctorate in Natural Sciences and in 1914 he qualified as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as a military doctor in the Imperial Russian Army. From 1912 he was a member of the Zionist Executive. Between 1919 and 1920 he managed the in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, assisting immigrants making their way to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

during the

Third Aliyah The Third Aliyah () refers to the third wave, or aliyah, of modern Jewish immigration to Palestine (region), Palestine from Europe. This wave lasted from 1919, just after the end of World War I, until 1923, at the start of an economic crisis in P ...

.Ronald L. Eisenberg (2006
''The Streets of Jerusalem: Who, What, Why''
pp. 279–280. Katznelson was a member of the main office of the '' Hapoel Hatzair–Young Zionists'' federation in

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1921 to 1924. He led the party alongside Eliezer Kaplan and Haim Arlosoroff. In 1924, he emigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

and became the first director of the federation's office in the territory. He served as head of the Health Department of the Jewish Agency (1924–1930) and was a member of the management of the National Council as the head of its health department (1931–1948). He was also a member of the League for the Fight Against

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Katznelson was a member of the Second, Third and Fourth elected Assembly of Representatives representing Hapoel Hatzair and later Mapai. He held additional public positions, such as being on the Technion's executive committee and the Palestine Broadcasting Service's advisory council during the Mandate era. As a member of the Zionist Executive, he served as the secretary of the health committee. In February 1932, he was elected to the Jerusalem Community Council on behalf of Mapai. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Katznelson was one of the founders of the "Medical Service" (19 December 1947) alongside Moshe Feller, Yosef Meir, Mishulam Levontin and Moshe Kreiger.

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

noted in his diary after meeting with the establishment team: Katznelson was a member of the Provisional State Council due to his role in the leadership of the National Council, and was among the signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. From the establishment of the state until March 1949 he served as the Director-General of the Ministry of Health. In 1949 he joined Israel's delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, where he participated in discussions regarding the convention for the prevention of prostitution, expressing opposition to government regulation of prostitution. Afterwards, Katznelson joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. From November 1950 he served for five years as Israel's Minister Plenipotentiary to

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

,"Dr. A. Katznelson to Be Appointed Israel's Representative in Scandinavia," ''Al HaMishmar'', 14 May 1950, p. 23. based in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. In early 1956 he returned from his post due to illness and died a few weeks later.

Personal life

From 1919 he was married to Sima, daughter of Ze'ev Kaplan, who was also a physician. He was the father of Shmuel (a doctor, professor and a pioneer in paediatric surgery in Israel) and Ze'evah (Zika), the wife of Matti Peled. Ze'evah was named after her maternal grandfather.

Commemoration

His memory is commemorated with a street named "Avraham Nissan" in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katznelson, Avraham 1888 births Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Saint Petersburg State University alumni Moscow State University alumni Military doctors from the Russian Empire Jews from Mandatory Palestine Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence 20th-century Israeli physicians Diplomats for Israel 1956 deaths Mapai politicians People from Babruysk People from Bobruysky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Jews from the Russian Empire Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Israeli healthcare managers Jewish physicians Israeli radio people Immigrants of the Fourth Aliyah