Levi Eshkol

Levi Eshkol , 1895-1969, Israeli statesman, third prime minister of Israel, b. Ukraine; originally named Levi Shkolnik. In World War I he served in the Jewish Legion, which supported the British forces in Palestine. A leader in the Histradrut (General Federation of Jewish Labor) and the Mapai party, he served as Israel's minister of finance from 1952 to 1963, when he became prime minister. In 1965 he was challenged from within the Mapai party by David Ben-Gurion in a dispute over government policy. The party supported Eshkol, at which time Ben-Gurion and his followers, including Moshe Dayan, split from Mapai to form the Rafi party. Just prior to the Six-Day War (June, 1967), amid pressure for a more militant posture toward the Arab countries, Eshkol expanded the base of his coalition cabinet by including two new parties, Rafi and the right-wing Gahal; Rafi was represented by Moshe Dayan, who took over the ministry of defense. Eshkol died in office in 1969.

Bibliography: See his state papers, ed. by H. M. Christman (1969); biography by T. C. F. Prittie (1969).

Eshkol, Levi (1895–1969) Israeli statesman, prime minister (1963–69), b. Ukraine. Eshkol established one of the first kibbutzim (cooperative farms), became minister of finance (1952–53), created the Israel Labour Party, and succeeded David Ben-Gurion as prime minister.

Eshkol, Levi (b. 25 Oct. 1895, d. 6 Feb. 1969). Prime Minister of Israel 1963–9 Born Levi Scholnik at Oratovo (Ukraine), he went to Palestine in 1914 and became a farm labourer. When the British entered Palestine in 1917 he enlisted in the Jewish Legion. With Ben-Gurion and Ben-Zvi he was a founder of the Histadrut (General Federation of Jewish Labour), as well as of the Mapai (Israel Workers' Party) in 1929. He rose to prominence mainly as Ben-Gurion's lieutenant. As such, he became Minister for Agriculture and Development in 1951, and Minister of Finance in 1952. He subsequently presided over a period of considerable economic growth. Despite successfully leading Israel through the Six Day War in 1967, he was relatively conciliatory towards the other Arab states, and refused to annex formally the occupied territories in the West Bank, apart from the eastern part of Jerusalem. Just before his death, he managed to reunite various socialist groups to form the Labour Party.