Podcast: David Ben Gurion and his way to independence

 

Born to a humble family, he was a self-taught and self-made man. His way to the declaration of Israeli independence was a constant path of trial and error, of learning from experience and history. The first Israeli prime minister, apart from being responsible to some of the most crucial decisions in Jewish history, he was also the initiator of the cultural and scientific development of the young state.

 

Anita Shapira is Professor Emerita in the Study of Zionism at Tel Aviv University and former dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv University. She specializes in modern and contemporary Jewish history, especially in social and cultural history and questions of identity. Her best known works include “Land and Power, the Zionist Resort to Force, 1882-1948” and “Israel: A History” – a book that won the National Jewish Book Award in 2012. Recently she published “Ben Gurion: The Founder of Modern Israel”.