Ben-Gurion, David

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Ben-Gurion, David (1886–1973) Israeli statesman, prime minister (1948–53, 1955–63), b. Poland as David Grün. He settled in Palestine in 1906. In 1930 he became leader of the Mapai (Labour) Party, the socialist arm of the Zionist movement. After World War II, he supported the use of violence to remove the British from Palestine. Known as the ‘Father of the Nation’, Ben-Gurion headed the campaign for an independent Jewish state. In 1948 he became Israel's first prime minister.

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