Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., November 27, 2009 Kislev 10, 5770 | | Israel Time: 19:52 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Meir Vilner
Share |
Last update - 00:00 08/06/2003
Meir Vilner dies at 84
By Joseph Algazy

Meir Vilner, the last living signatory of Israel's Declaration of Independence, died Thursday morning at the age of 84. Vilner served as leader of the Israeli Communist Party (and subsequently Hadash) and was its representative in the Knesset for some 40 years.
Advertisement


Born in Vilnius in 1918, Vilner studied at the Hebrew gymnasium Tarbut. In his youth, he was a member of the Hashomer Ha'tzair movement. In 1938, he immigrated to Israel to study at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1940, he joined the communist party in Israel, which was underground, and for many years was a member of the party leadership. From 1965-1990, he served as secretary-general of the Israel Communist Party and was its chairman from 1990-1993.

In a statement released Thursday, his family said Vilner saw his work as his greatest achievement, through which he and his colleagues successfully created a unique political movement in which they lived and fought, Jews and Arabs together, for a just peace, for equal rights for the Arab population and for the defense of workers' rights in Israel.

Vilner championed a Marxist-Leninist ideology, to which he remained true throughout the upheavals that shook the world in recent years. He maintained his political ideology even when it was deemed unacceptable and not easily discussed in Israel.

In 1967, Vilner survived an assassination attempt by a member of Herut - a right-wing political movement that evolved into today's Likud party. He was stabbed at the height of an incitement campaign that targeted Vilner and his political party for their call to end the occupation and recognize the Palestinian right to a homeland alongside Israel.

He died in hospital, where he had spent the last four years
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Likud MK slams U.S.
Culture and Sports Minister says the decision to freeze settlements is a mistake.
Settlements freeze
Barak instructed IDF to issue injunction to temporarily freeze settlement construction.
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Award-Winning 'Obsession'
Watch 'Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West' Online FOR FREE!
Protea Hills
A Retirement Village in Nature Nestled in the Foothills of Jerusalem
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
 Haaretz Hot Topics
Iran elections
Obama speech in Cairo
The Pope in the Holy Land
Durban II conference
Israel vs. Hamas
More Headlines
17:19 Report: Shalit deal on verge of completion
19:51 U.S.: Iran will face consequences on nuclear issue
13:00 Palestinian killed as IAF strikes Gaza rocket launchers
06:24 Israel okays 28 new settlement buildings, despite freeze
19:13 Comment / Anti-Semitism in Europe: New prejudice fans flames of the oldest hatred
15:42 Shlomo Sand's 'The Invention of the Jewish People' is a success for Israel
12:39 Iran confiscates rights lawyer's Nobel Peace medal
00:35 TV ROUND-UP: Palestinian stabs two Israelis near Hebron
17:00 NATO to Haaretz: We won't play role in Mideast peace process
06:31 ANALYSIS / Settlers have been working for months to undermine construction freeze
10:50 God's promise of land to Jews has deep pull on secular Israelis
04:14 The Golan is moving closer to Israel, geologists say
11:07 IBM to buy Israeli start-up company for $225 million
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved