Levi Eshkol

Levi Eshkol, the third Prime Minister (1963-1969) and Minister of Defence (1963-1967) of Israel, is less known abroad in comparison to his predecessor, David Ben-Gurion, and his successors. A born doer, compromiser and wheeler-dealer, this charming and humorous pioneer came to Ottoman Palestine from the Ukraine as a 19-year-old socialist. His career, from his role as the Czar of Israel's rural settlement efforts before and after independence, to his major contribution to the absorption of the waves of immigration in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, and his decisive role in the development of Israel's economy, culminated in his controversial role as Prime Minister and Minister of Defence during the Six Day War of 1967. His tenure in both offices (until his forced resignation from the Ministry of Defence before the outbreak of the Six Day War) proved to be crucial to Israel's future long after his death in 1969. Eshkol also presided over the creation of Israel's Labour Party in 1968, and he is perceived to have been the architect of the strategic alliance between Israel and the United States, a perception that requires not only archival work, but the historical perspective missing in o