Home > Yigael Yadin

Yadin was born in 1917 to noted archeologist Eliezer Sukenik . He joined the Haganah at age fifteen and served there in a variety of different capacities. In 1946, however, he left the Haganah following an argument with its commander Yitzchak Sadeh over the inclusion of a machine gun as part of standard squad equipment. He was a university student when, in 1947, shortly before the State of Israel declared its independence, he was called back to active service by David Ben Gurion. He served in various positions during Israel's War of Independence, and was responsible for many of the key decisions made during the course of that war.

Yadin was appointed Chief-of-Staff on November 9, 1949, following the resignation of Yaakov Dori, and served in that capacity for three years. He resigned on December 7, 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada., over disagreements with then prime minister and defense minister Ben Gurion about cuts to the military budget. By age thirty-five, he had completed his military career.

Upon leaving the military, he devoted himself to research and began his life's-work in archeology. In 19561956 is a leap year starting on Sunday. see link for calendar) Events January January 1 End of Anglo- Egyptian Condominium in Sudan. January 16 President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine January 26 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in he received the Israel Prize for his doctoral thesis on the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As an archeologist, he excavated some of the most important sites in the region, including the Qumran CavesQumran is located on a dry plateau on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. It is best known as the nearest centre to the hiding place of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Since the discovery of the scrolls, extensive excavations have been done. Jewish ri, MasadaThis article is about the Judean fortress. Masada is also a possible transliteration of the name of a Druze village on the Golan Heights named Masade,of a jazz band fronted by avant-garde composer John Zorn named Masada (band), and of a 1980 American tele, HazorHazor "courtyyard" or "settlement" Name of several places in ancient Israel: One of the most important Caananite towns. It was conquered by Joshua. It seems to have had several kings named Jabin. One Jabin is mentioned at Joshua's time and one in the time, and Tel MegiddoMegiddo is the English designation for an important ancient settlement and city site in the Jezreel Valley of northern Israel, known alternatively as Tel Megiddo (Hebrew) and Tell es-Mutesellim (Arabic). Located strategically at the crossroads of several. He was sometimes forced to deal with the theft of important artifacts, occasionally by prominent political and military figures. In one instance, where the thefts were commonly attributed to the famous one-eyed general Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan ( May 20, 1915 October 16, 1981), was an Israeli military leader and politician. In Hebrew, his name translates as "Moses (the) Judge"). Early life Moshe Dayan was born in a kibbutz, Deganya Alef (Deganya "A"), Palestine then still part of the, he remarked: "I know who did it, and I am not going to say who it is, but if I catch him, I'll poke out his other eye too."

Even as an archeologist, Yadin never completely abandoned public life. On the eve of the Six Day War, he served as a military adviser to prime minister Levi Eshkol, and following the Yom Kippur War, he was a member of the Agranat Commission that investigated the government's fiascos that led to the war.

In 1977 Yadin formed the Democratic Movement for Change (known by its Hebrew acronym DaSh), together with Professor Amnon Rubenstein, Shmuel Tamir, Meir Amit, and many other prominent public figures. The new party seemed to be an ideal for solution for many Israelis who were fed up with alleged corruption in the Labor Party, which included the Asher Yadlin incident, the suicide of Housing Minister Avraham Ofer , and Leah Rabin's illegal dollar account in the United States. Furthermore, the DMC was a response to the increasing sense of frustration and despair in the aftermath of the 1973 war, and the social and political developments that followed in its wake. Many people regarded Yadin, a warrior and a scholar, as the quintessential prototype of the ideal Israeli, untainted by corruption, who could lead the country on a new path.

In the 1977 elections, the new party did remarkably well for its first attempt to enter the Knesset, winning 15 of the 120 seats. As a result of the election, Likud party leader Menachem Begin was able to form a coalition with the DMC, thereby excluding the Labor Party for the first time in Israel's history. As the new Deputy Prime Minister, Yadin played a pivotal role in many events that took place, particularly the contacts with Egypt, which eventually led to the signing of the Camp David Accords and the peace treaty between Israel and her neighbor. Nevertheless, the DMC itself proved to be a failure, and the party broke up into numerous splinter factions, so that by the elections of 1981, the party no longer ran in its original format. That same year, Yadin retired from politics.

He died in 1984.