Tag Archives: Tel Aviv

Jew of the Week: Meir Dizengoff

Founder of Tel-Aviv

Meir Dizengoff

Meir Yankelevich Dizengoff (1861-1936) was born in Bessarabia, a region overlapping parts of modern-day Moldova and Ukraine. After completing his education, he enlisted in the Russian Army, where he served for two years. Dizengoff then settled in Odessa and soon joined a revolutionary group called Narodnaya Volya (“People’s Will”), which sought to overthrow the Tsar and assist the plight of the many impoverished people across the Russian Empire. At the same time, he met several Zionist leaders and joined Hovevei Zion, an organization formed in response to the tragic pogroms of 1881. In 1885, Dizengoff was arrested for his involvement with Narodnaya Volya’s insurgent activities. Upon his release, he moved back to Bessarabia to found a new branch of Hovevei Zion. A couple of years later, Dizengoff enrolled at the University of Paris to study chemical engineering. It was there that he met Edmond James de Rothschild, a member of the French Rothschilds who was an ardent Zionist. Rothschild sent Dizengoff to Israel to set up a bottle-making factory for his family’s wineries. Unfortunately, the factory didn’t do well, and Dizengoff returned to Europe. It wasn’t long before Dizengoff returned once more to the Holy Land, setting up his home in Jaffa in 1905, and starting a development and import company called Geulah. Several years later, Dizengoff joined together with Ahuzat Bayit to purchase a plot of land outside of Jaffa to create a new Jewish community. In 1909, this plot of land was divided among 66 Jewish families, establishing the town of Tel-Aviv. Two years later, Dizengoff became its head of planning, and was instrumental in its quick expansion and development. During World War I, the Ottomans expelled the town’s population, and it may have ceased to exist entirely were it not for the efforts of Dizengoff. In 1922, Tel-Aviv was recognized as a city, and not surprisingly, Dizengoff was elected its first mayor, a post he held until his death. In 1923, Tel-Aviv became the first city in Israel to have electricity. By 1925, its population had swelled to 34,000. Upon the passing of his beloved wife in 1930, Dizengoff donated their family home to the city, requesting that it be turned into a museum. It was there, on the 14th of May in 1948, that the State of Israel declared its independence. Unfortunately, Dizengoff himself didn’t live to see this day. However, he played a critical role both in the founding of Tel-Aviv, and Israel as a whole, and transformed Tel-Aviv from an empty parcel of land to a beautiful city of 150,000 at the time of his passing. To this day, Tel-Aviv’s most important artery is Dizengoff Street, often described as “Israel’s Champs-Élysées”.

Words of the Week

“Thus said God: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the countries of the East, and from the countries of the West; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.'”
– Zechariah 8:7-8

Jew of the Week: Avigdor Ben-Gal

The Man Who Saved Israel

Avigdor Ben-Gal

Janusz Ludwig (1936-2016) was born in Lodz, Poland. At the outbreak of World War II, his family managed to escape to the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, they were soon mired in Siberia, where Ludwig’s parents disappeared. Thankfully, Ludwig and his sister made it to Israel, together with a group of other Polish children (many of whom were orphans) by way of Iran. They settled in Tel-Aviv, and were raised by their cousin. In Israel, Ludwig adopted a new name: Avigdor Ben-Gal. Though he initially aspired to be a physician, Ben-Gal enjoyed his military service with the IDF, and decided to be a career military man. He saw his first action in Egypt during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Just over a decade later, he was an operations chief during the Six-Day Way. By 1973, Ben-Gal was commander of the 7th Armored Brigade. He sensed that a war would soon break out, but was ridiculed by most others within the political and military sphere. Nonetheless, he began preparing his own brigade for war. When the Yom Kippur War did indeed break out, Ben-Gal’s brigade was the only one ready for combat. They were able to miraculously defeat the Syrians in the Golan Heights despite being heavily outnumbered (700 Syrian tanks vs. 175 Israeli tanks). Ben-Gal’s skill and heroics turned back the Syrian invasion after just 3 days of combat. He then led a brave counter-offensive that brought the IDF within 20 miles of Damascus just 4 days later. At the war’s conclusion, Ben-Gal was credited with having “saved the State of Israel” by defense minister Moshe Dayan. In 1976, Ben-Gal helped to plan the rescue operation of Israeli hostages in Entebbe. A year later, he was put in charge of Israel’s Northern Command. After retiring from the military, Ben-Gal served on the board of Israel Aerospace Industries, the state-owned aviation manufacturer (and one of Israel’s largest employers). He was also on the board of Tahal – an engineering and infrastructure company that is an important defense contractor – as well as the NSO Group, an Israeli tech start-up focusing on surveillance and security. Sadly, Ben-Gal passed away last Saturday.

Words of the Week

I will always stand with Israel. I can’t tolerate people who criticize Israel without walking in their shoes. I hate the lies they spread and their lack of knowledge. I’m proud to stand up for the Israelis.

– Adam Sandler

Jew of the Week: Yehoshua Sofer

The Father of Israeli Hip Hop – and Hebrew Martial Arts

Nigel Wilson, aka Yehoshua Sofer

Nigel Wilson (b. 1958) was born in Jamaica to a Chasidic family, and grew up in Los Angeles. There, he fervently studied the Korean martial arts of Tang Soo Do and Kuk Sool Won, earning black belts in each before working as a martial arts trainer and bodyguard. At the same time, he took a great interest in LA’s hip hop scene. In 1989, Wilson moved to Israel and became a rap artist himself, under the stage name Nigel Ha’Admor. His songs gave rise to a new form of “street Hebrew”, and inspired later famous Israeli rappers like Subliminal and Hadag Nahash, which is why some have described Wilson as the “father of Israeli hip hop”. By 2000, his rapping days were behind him, and Wilson went back to martial arts, heading a Korean martial arts school in Jerusalem for a couple of years before opening his own schools in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. These schools, however, were quite different, teaching a new martial arts style that Wilson, now known as Yehoshua Sofer, called Abir Qesheth. Hebrew for “Bow Warrior”, Sofer claimed that this was an ancient Israelite martial art going back to at least the time of King David, and passed down in secret from generation to generation by a small group of grandmasters. He claimed to have received this wisdom from his own father, tracing it back through their Yemenite Jewish roots, as the secluded Jews in Yemen were the last to carry on the Abir tradition. Not surprisingly, many scoff at Sofer’s claims, especially in light of his background in the entertainment industry. However, researchers have indeed found a great deal of supporting evidence for his claims, and Abir has grown tremendously in popularity. Today, it is a complete fighting system with unique, practical self-defense tactics based on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. More significantly, Abir incorporates spiritual teachings, Jewish prayer, and Torah study, making it truly one-of-a-kind. Before all else, Sofer’s greatest vision is to end the age-old stereotype of the “weak diaspora Jew” and bring back the old spirit of the ancient Hebrew warrior.

Words of the Week

Impossible is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.
– Napoleon Bonaparte