Yosef Sprinzak ( he, יוֹסֵף שְׁפְּרִינְצָק; 8 December 1885 – 28 January 1959) was a leading

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 J ...

activist in the first half of the 20th century, an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician, and the first

Speaker of the Knesset The Speaker of the Knesset ( he, יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הכנסת, Yoshev Rosh HaKnesset, Chairman of the Knesset) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel whe ...

, a role he held from 1949 until his death in 1959.

Biography

Yosef Sprinzak was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

but following the expulsion of Jews in 1891 moved with his family to Kishinev where he was a founder of the Tze'irei Zion (Zion Youth). He began medical school at the

American University in Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

in 1908 and settled in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

in 1910, during the

Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah ( he, העלייה השנייה, ''HaAliyah HaShniya'') was an aliyah (Jewish emigration to Palestine) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman-ruled Palestine, mos ...

(1904–1914). Along with

Eliezer Kaplan Eliezer Kaplan ( he, אליעזר קפלן; be, Эліэзер Каплан; ) was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence and the country's first Minister of Finance and Deputy ...

Sprinzak headed ''

Hapoel Hatzair Hapoel Hatzair ( he, הפועל הצעיר, "The Young Worker") was a Zionist group active in Palestine from 1905 until 1930. It was founded by A.D. Gordon, Yosef Aharonovich, Yosef Sprinzak and followed a non- Marxist, Zionist, socialist agenda ...

'' ("The Young Worker") a Zionist socialist faction formed in 1905 and one of the organisations that consolidated to form

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger i ...

in 1930. Its members were pro-British and supported

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionism, Zionist leader a ...

. He was a founder of the

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

in 1920 and acted as secretary general of the organisation from 1945 to 1949. His son

Yair Sprinzak Professor Yair Sprinzak ( he, יאיר שפרינצק, 8 November 1911 – 6 September 1999) was an Israeli scientist and politician who served as a Knesset for Moledet between 1988 and 1992. Biography Born in Tel Aviv during the Ottoman Empire ...

also served in the Knesset. Another son, Aharon David Sprinzak, an

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

pilot, was killed in action during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. His grandson, Ehud Sprinzak (1940-2002) was one of Israel's foremost experts on counterterrorism and far-right Jewish groups.

Political career

Sprinzak was elected to the position of speaker of the provisional parliament on 15 July 1948,Goldberg, 2003, p. 32. a role in which he helped lay the foundations of Israel's parliamentarism.Sofer, 1998, p. 115. He was elected to the

first Knesset Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...

in 1949 as a member of

, and became the Speaker of the new body. He was re-elected and remained speaker in both the second and third Knessets. As part of his role as speaker, Sprinzak became acting

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

when

fell ill from 12 December 1951. After Weizmann's death on 9 November 1952 Sprinzak served as interim President until inauguration of

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( he, יִצְחָק בֶּן־צְבִי‎ ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963) was a historian, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving President of Israel. Biography Born in Poltava in the Russian Empir ...

on 10 December 1952.

Gallery

File:Zionist General Council, Jerusalem 1935.jpg,

, Chairman of the National Committee, addresses the Zionist General Council Meeting in Jerusalem. From right to left: I. Rupaisen, Ben-Zion Mossinson, H. Farbstein,

Nahum Sokolow Nahum ben Joseph Samuel Sokolow ( he, נחום ט' סוקולוב ''Nachum ben Yosef Shmuel Soqolov'', yi, סאָקאָלאָוו; ) was a Zionist leader, author, translator, and a pioneer of Hebrew journalism. Biography Nahum Sokolow was born ...

, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Yosef Sprinzak, I. L. Goldberg, Shmaryahu Levin,

(1935) File:Wwwm1027.jpg, L-R: W. G. Hall, Moshe Rosetti, Yosef Sprinzak, Alexander Knox Helm,

Leslie Hore-Belisha Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha, PC (; 7 September 1893 – 16 February 1957) was a British Liberal, then National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister. He later joined the Conservative Party. He proved highly s ...

, and

Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett ( he, משה שרת, born Moshe Chertok (Hebrew: )‎ 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was a Russian-born Israeli politician who served as Israel's second prime minister from 1954 to 1955. A member of Mapai, Sharett's term was ...

in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

, 1951

References

Bibliography

* Goldberg, Giora (2003). ''Ben-Gurion Against the Knesset''. London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, ...

. * Sofer, Sasson (1998). ''Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy''. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

External links

*
Jewish Virtual Library
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sprinzak, Yosef 1885 births 1959 deaths Politicians from Moscow Russian Jews Zionist activists Jewish socialists Jews in Ottoman Palestine General Secretaries of Histadrut Leaders of political parties in Israel Moldovan emigrants to Israel Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Mapai politicians Jews in Mandatory Palestine Burials at Mount Herzl Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Speakers of the Knesset