Wednesday was the 133rd birthday of David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of the State of Israel and the first Prime Minister of the Israeli Government.
David Ben Gurion, the founding father of the State of Israel, was born in 1886. He led the Zionist movement as it prepared for Jewish independence in the Land of Israel, led us to victory in the War of Independence, and is considered one of our greatest leaders ever. pic.twitter.com/EXDWdHceiR
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman)
Ben-Gurion, born on October 16, 1886, was the leader of the Zionist Movement as it prepared the Yishuv for Jewish independence in the Land of Israel, which the British referred to as Mandate Palestine. He was one of those who led the nascent State to victory in the War of Independence in 1948, and is considered one of the greatest leaders ever to take the reins of the Jewish State.
It was also Ben-Gurion who forged the original compromise between the religious and secular political factions that allowed the two sectors to be able to co-exist in a coalition that might otherwise have never been able to build and maintain a stable government.
Until this year, Ben-Gurion was the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the State of Israel; Benjamin Netanyahu broke the record this July.