Shaul Avigur

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Schaul Avigur, ca.1960

Shaul Avigur (born October 22, 1899 in Dvinsk , † August 29, 1978 in Kibbutz Kinneret, Israel ), originally Saul Meyeroff or Saul Meirov , was a Jewish secret service worker and politician.

Life

Avigur was born Saul Meyeroff in 1899 in Dvinsk in what is now Latvia . His parents were Yehuda-Leib and Frida Meirov-Hakohen. At the age of 12 he emigrated to Palestine . After graduating from high school, he studied at the Hebrew Herzlia-Gymnasium in Tel Aviv . In 1918 he became a member of Kibbutz Kinneret at the southwestern end of Lake Genesareth . From there, he followed a call to defend Tel Chai in 1920, led by Joseph Trumpeldor .

Under the influence of these experiences, Meyeroff dedicated his life to the security and defense of the country. In 1934, together with Re'uwen Schiloach, he played a major role in the formation of the Sherut Yediot ( SHAI ), the Hagana's secret service department , and the Ta'as , the underground arms industry. From 1939 he was commander of the Mossad le Aliyah Bet and organized by Tel Aviv and Paris from the illegal immigration to Palestine . With the partition plan for Palestine, Meyeroff's tasks were expanded to include the procurement and transport of weapons. On 12 July 1948 fell Revolutionary War Meyer offs only son, Gur Meyeroff, at the age of 17 years by an Arab sniper near Segera. Avigur was shopping for weapons in Geneva at the time . In memory of his son, Schaul Meyeroff changed his surname to Avigur, which means "father of Gur". A short time later, Avigur ended its involvement in Europe. He subsequently worked as Deputy Defense Minister under Ben Gurion .

In 1953 Avigur was a founding member and leader of the Lishkat Hakesher ( NATIV , Hebrew for "path"), a covert organization to establish contacts with Jews in the Soviet Union , to support them and to promote their emigration to Israel. The trigger was Stalin's wave of arrests and executions against Jewish medical professionals due to the alleged medical conspiracy . Avigur headed NATIV until 1970. Avigur was awarded the Israel Prize in 1973 for his services to national defense in various functions and positions . He is the second prize winner ever in the category For special services to society and the state . He also received honorary doctorates from the universities in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Avigur died in 1978 after an illness and is buried in Kinneret.

family

Avigur married Sara Avigur (1902-1992) in 1924, the couple had two children Ruth (born June 13, 1927) and Gur (1931-1948).

Avigur's sister Tzipora was the wife of Moshe Sharet .

Web links

Commons : Shaul Avigur  - collection of images, videos and audio files