Chaim Weizmann 1

Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann

1st President of Israel

In office17 February 1949 – 9 November 1952

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion

Preceded by Position established(Provisional State Council)

Succeeded by Yitzhak Ben-Zvi

2nd Chairman of the Provisional State Council of Israel

In office16 May 1948 – 17 February 1949

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion

Preceded by David Ben-Gurion

Succeeded by Became President

Personal details

Born Chaim Azriel Weizmannחיים עזריאל ויצמן27 November 1874Motal, Russian Empire

Died 9 November 1952 (aged 77)Rehovot, Israel

Nationality Israeli British

Political party General Zionists

Spouse(s) Vera Weizmann

Children 2

Profession Chemist

Religion Judaism

Signature

Chaim Azriel Weizmann (Hebrew: חיים עזריאל ויצמן, Arabic: حاييم وايزمان Ḥayīm Wayzman; 27 November 1874 – 9November 1952) was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State ofIsrael. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952.Weizmann was also a chemist who developed the ABE-process, which produces acetone through bacterialfermentation. He founded the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

Chaim Weizmann 2

BiographyWeizmann was born in the village of Motal near Pinsk in Belarus (at that time part of the Russian Empire). He wasthe third of 15 children. His father was a timber merchant.[1] Until the age of 11, he attended a traditional cheder. Atthe age of 11, he entered high school in Pinsk.Weizmann studied chemistry at the Polytechnic Institute of Darmstadt, Germany, and University of Fribourg,Switzerland. In 1899, he was awarded a doctorate with honors. In 1901, he was appointed assistant lecturer at theUniversity of Geneva and, in 1904, senior lecturer at the University of Manchester.[2] Chaim Weizmann & his familylived in Manchester for thirty years (1906–1937).He was married to Vera Weizmann.[3] The couple had two sons. The younger one, Flight Lt Michael OserWeizmann (d. 1942, aged twenty-five), serving as a pilot in the British No. 502 Squadron RAF, was killed when hisplane was shot down over the Bay of Biscay.[4]

His nephew Ezer Weizman also became president of Israel. Chaim Weizmann is buried beside his wife in the gardenof his home at the Weizmann estate, which is located on the grounds of Israel's science research institute, TheWeizmann Institute of Science.In 2005, he was voted the 45th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determinewhom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.[5]

Political careerWeizmann missed the first Zionist conference, held in 1897 in Basel, Switzerland, because of travel problems, but heattended each one thereafter. Beginning in 1901, he lobbied for the founding of a Jewish institution of higherlearning in Palestine. Together with Martin Buber and Berthold Feiwel, a document was presented to the FifthZionist Congress, highlighting this need especially in the fields of science and engineering. This idea would later becrystallized in the foundation of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 1912.[6]

In 1904, Weizmann became a chemistry lecturer at the University of Manchester and soon became a leader amongBritish Zionists. At that time in Manchester, Arthur Balfour was a Conservative MP representing the district, as wellas Prime Minister, and the two met during one of Balfour's electoral campaigns. Balfour supported the concept of aJewish homeland, but felt that there would be more support among politicians for the then-current offer in Uganda,called the British Uganda Programme. Following mainstream Zionist rejection of that proposal, Weizmann wascredited later with persuading Balfour, then the Foreign Minister, for British support to establish a Jewish homelandin Palestine, the original Zionist demand.[7]

Chaim Weizmann 3

Weizmann's passport photo, ca. 1915

Weizmann (left) with Faisal I of Iraq in Syria, 1918

Vera Weizmann, Chaim Weizmann, Herbert Samuel,Lloyd George, Ethel Snowden, Philip Snowden

Weizmann first visited Jerusalem in 1907, and while there, hehelped organize the Palestine Land Development Company as apractical means of pursuing the Zionist dream. AlthoughWeizmann was a strong advocate for "those governmental grantswhich are necessary to the achievement of the Zionist purpose" inPalestine, as stated at Basel, he persuaded many Jews not to waitfor future events, stating:

A state cannot be created by decree, but by the forces of apeople and in the course of generations. Even if all thegovernments of the world gave us a country, it would onlybe a gift of words. But if the Jewish people will go buildPalestine, the Jewish State will become a reality—a fact.[]

In 1917, he became president of the British Zionist Federation; heworked with Arthur Balfour to obtain the milestone BalfourDeclaration, which stated in part that the British government"views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a nationalhome for the Jewish people ... it being clearly understood...". Afounder of so-called Synthetic Zionism, Weizmann supportedgrass-roots colonization efforts as well as high-level diplomaticactivity. He was generally associated with the centrist GeneralZionists and later sided with neither Labour Zionism on the leftnor Revisionist Zionism on the right. In 1917, he expressed hisview of Zionism in the following words,

We have [the Jewish people] never based the Zionistmovement on Jewish suffering in Russia or in any otherland. These suffering have never been the mainspring ofZionism. The foundation of Zionism was, and continues tobe to this day, the yearning of the Jewish people for itshomeland, for a national center and a national life.

On 3 January 1919, he and the Hashemite Prince Faisal signed theFaisal-Weizmann Agreement attempting to establish favourablerelations between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. At the endof the month, the Paris Peace Conference decided that the Arabprovinces of the Ottoman Empire should be wholly separated andthe newly conceived mandate-system applied to them.[8] Shortlythereafter, both men made their statements to the conference.

After 1920, he assumed leadership in the World Zionistmovement, serving twice (1920–31, 1935–46) as president of theWorld Zionist Organization. In 1921, Weizmann went along withAlbert Einstein for a fund-raiser to establish the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and support the Technion – IsraelInstitute of Technology. At this time, brewing differences over competing European and American visions ofZionism, and its funding of

Chaim Weizmann 4

Chaim Weizmann (sitting, second from left) at ameeting with Arab leaders at the King David Hotel,Jerusalem, 1933. Also pictured are Haim Arlosoroff(sitting, center), Moshe Shertok (Sharett) (standing,right), and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (standing, to Shertok's

right).

Weizmann (left) with first Turkish ambassador toIsrael, Seyfullah Esin (c), and Foreign Minister Moshe

Sharett, 1950

development versus political activities, caused Weizmann to clashwith Louis Brandeis.[9] During the war years, Brandeis headed theprecursor of the Zionist Organization of America, led infund-raising for Jews in Europe (and Palestine[10]). In earlyOctober 1914 the USS North Carolina arrived in Jaffa harbor withmoney and supplies provided by Schiff, the American JewishCommittee, and the Provisional Executive Committee for GeneralZionist Affairs, then acting for the WZO, which had been renderedimpotent by the war. Although Weizmann retained Zionistleadership, the clash led to the departure from the movement ofBrandeis and other prominent leaders. By 1929, there were about18,000 members left in the ZOA, a massive decline from the highof 200,000 reached during the Brandeis years.[11]

In 1936 he addressed the Peel Commission, set up by StanleyBaldwin, whose job it was to consider the working of the BritishMandate of Palestine. The Commission published a report that, forthe first time, recommended partition, but the proposal wasdeclared unworkable and formally rejected by the government.Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion accepted the partition and itslogic. This was the first official delineation and declaration of aZionist vision opting for a new, artificial state with a majority ofJewish population, alongside a state with an Arab majority. TheArab leaders, headed by Haj Amin al-Husseini, rejected the plan.

Weizmann's efforts to integrate Jews from Palestine in the waragainst Germany resulted in the creation of the Jewish Brigade,which fought mainly in the Italian front. After the war he grewembittered by the rise of violence in Palestine and by the terroristtendencies amongst followers of the Revisionist fraction. His influence within the Zionist movement decreased, yethe remained overwhelmingly influential outside of Mandate Palestine. In his Presidential Statement at the lastZionist Congress that he attended (Basle, 9 December 1946) he unequivocally said:

Massada, for all its heroism, was a disaster in our history; It is not our purpose or our right to plunge todestruction in order to bequeath a legend of martyrdom to posterity; Zionism was to mark the end of ourglorious deaths and the beginning of a new path leading to life.[12]

First president of Israel

He met with United States President Harry Truman and worked to obtain the support of the United States for theestablishment of the State of Israel. Weizmann became the first President of Israel in 1949. He served in this, largelyceremonial, position until his death in 1952.

Chaim Weizmann 5

Scientific career

Weizmann with Albert Einstein, 1921

Weizmann lectured in chemistry at the University of Geneva between1901 and 1903, and later taught at the University of Manchester. Hebecame a British subject in 1910, and while a lecturer at Manchester hebecame famous for discovering how to use bacterial fermentation toproduce large quantities of desired substances. He is considered to bethe father of industrial fermentation. He used the bacteriumClostridium acetobutylicum (the Weizmann organism) to produceacetone. Acetone was used in the manufacture of cordite explosive

propellants critical to the Allied war effort (see Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath). Weizmann transferredthe rights to the manufacture of acetone to the Commercial Solvents Corporation in exchange for royalties.[13]

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill became aware of the possible use of Weizmann's discovery in early1915, and Minister of Munitions David Lloyd George joined Churchill in encouraging Weizmann's development ofthe process. Pilot plant development of laboratory procedures was completed in 1915 at the J&W Nicholson & Cogin factory in Bow, London, so industrial scale production of acetone could begin in six British distilleriesrequisitioned for the purpose in early 1916. The effort produced 30,000 tonnes of acetone during the war, although anational collection of horse-chestnuts was required when supplies of maize were inadequate for the quantity of starchneeded for fermentation. The importance of Weizmann's work to the ongoing war effort encouraged ForeignSecretary Arthur Balfour to issue the Balfour Declaration of 1917 in support of Weizmann's Zionist objectives asWeizmann ascended to the presidency of the British Zionist Federation.[1]

After the Shell Crisis of 1915 during World War I, Weizmann was director of the British Admiralty laboratoriesfrom 1916 until 1919. During World War II, he was an honorary adviser to the British Ministry of Supply and didresearch on synthetic rubber and high-octane gasoline. (Formerly Allied-controlled sources of rubber were largelyinaccessible owing to Japanese occupation during World War II, giving rise to heightened interest in suchinnovations).Concurrently, Weizmann devoted himself to the establishment of a scientific institute for basic research in thevicinity of his sprawling estate, in the town of Rehovot. Weizmann saw great promise in science as a means to bringpeace and prosperity to the area. As stated in his own words :

"I trust and feel sure in my heart that science will bring to this land both peace and a renewal of itsyouth, creating here the springs of a new spiritual and material life. [...] I speak of both science for itsown sake and science as a means to an end."[14]

His efforts led in 1934 to the creation of the Daniel Sieff Research Institute, which was financially supported by anendowment by Israel Sieff in memory of his late son. Weizmann actively conducted research in the laboratories ofthis institute, primarily in the field of organic chemistry. In 1949 the Sieff Institute was renamed the WeizmannInstitute of Science in his honor. Weizmann's success as a scientist and the success of the Institute he founded makehim an iconic figure in the heritage of the Israeli scientific community today.

Chaim Weizmann 6

Published work• Chaim Weizmann (1949). Trial and Error: The Autobiography of Chaim Weizmann. Jewish Publication Society

of America.

References[1] Brown, G.I. (1998) The Big Bang: A History of Explosives Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-1878-0 p.144[4] Casualty Details (http:/ / www. cwgc. org/ search/ casualty_details. aspx?casualty=1531206) Commonweath War Graves Commission[6] Carl Alpert, TECHNION: The Story of Israel's Institute of Technology. ISBN 0-87203-102-0[7] Current Biography 1942, pp 877–80. The story goes that Weizmann asked Balfour, "Would you give up London to live in Saskatchewan?"

When Balfour replied that the British had always lived in London, Weizmann responded, "Yes, and we lived in Jerusalem when London wasstill a marsh."

[8] International Boundary Study, Jordan – Syria Boundary, No. 94 – 30 December 1969, p.10 (http:/ / www. law. fsu. edu/ library/ collection/LimitsinSeas/ IBS094. pdf) US Department of State

[9] Ben Halpern, A Clash of Heroes: Brandeis, Weizmann, and American Zionism (Studies in Jewish History) Oxford University Press, 1987[10] Michael Brown, The Israeli-American connection: its roots in the yishuv, 1914–1945 (http:/ / books. google. com. ph/

books?id=UEQggnBIUUgC& printsec=frontcover& hl=en& source=gbs_v2_summary_r& cad=0#v=onepage& q=American ProvisionalExecutive Committee for General Zionist Affairs& f=false), p.26

[11] Donald Neff, Fallen Pillars: U.S. Policy towards Palestine and Israel since 1945 (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-srv/ style/longterm/ books/ chap1/ fallenpillars. htm)

[12] [The Letters and Papers of Chaim Weizmann, Series B. Papers Volume II December 1931 – April 1952, Paper 87, pp.636–637, Yad ChaimWeizmann (1984), Library of Congress Catalog No. 82-17442

[13] Local Industry Owes Much to Weizmann (http:/ / www. docstoc. com/ docs/ 44989860/ Local-Industry-Owes-Much-to-Weizmann-powder)

External links• Chaim Weizmann (http:/ / www. jafi. org. il/ education/ 100/ people/ bios/ weiz. html) Jewish Agency site• Chaim Weizmann (http:/ / www. mfa. gov. il/ MFA/ History/ Modern History/ Centenary of Zionism/ Zionist

Leaders- Chaim Weizmann) Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs• Historical Letters and Primary Sources from Chaim Weizmann (http:/ / www. shapell. org/ manuscript.

aspx?169129) Shapell Manuscript Foundation• Weizmann Institute of Science (http:/ / www. weizmann. ac. il)• The Chaim Weizmann Laboratory (http:/ / www. weizmann. ac. il/ Organic_Chemistry/ weizlab. shtml) on Chaim

Weizmann's laboratory at the Weizmann Institute (includes info and links on Weizmann's scientific work)

Article Sources and Contributors 7

Article Sources and ContributorsChaim Weizmann  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=553623973  Contributors: A.S. Brown, Addshore, Againme, Al.Neuland, All Hallow's Wraith, Anna512, Anomalocaris,Ashley kennedy3, Atchom, Avraham, BD2412, Bachrach44, Baronplantagenet, Bart133, Bellerophon5685, Bernie44, Big Axe, BokicaK, Bratsche, CSWarren, Can't sleep, clown will eat me,CasualObserver'48, Chenopodiaceous, Clarityfiend, Coasterlover1994, Colonies Chris, CommonsDelinker, Copyeditorjoe, Courcelles, Craigy144, CryptoDerk, Curps, Czalex, D6, DVD R W,Dabomb87, Danny, Darth Kalwejt, Darwinek, Davshul, Deb, Delldot, Detruncate, Dominic, Doron, Dream100, Epeefleche, Epson291, Eran, Eric Kvaalen, EstherLois, EugeneZelenko, Eumolpo,Everyking, Faigl.ladislav, Falcon8765, Federalist51, Fixer88, Formeruser-81, Geoffspear, Gershom, GiantSnowman, Gilabrand, Good Olfactory, GoodDay, Gordoncph, Grenavitar, Guy Peters, HBruthzoo, HaeB, Haim Berman, Hameitz, Hayabusa future, Hithisishal, Humus sapiens, IZAK, Ichwan Palongengi, Igoruha, Iridescent, Israelscitech, Jayjg, Jeffrey Mall, JesseRafe, Jewbacca,Jfdwolff, Jim Fitzgerald, Jmcc150, Joao Xavier, Joel7687, John, John Z, JohnAlbertRigali, Johnpacklambert, Joler, Josh Parris, Kaaveh Ahangar, Kbdank71, Ken Gallager, Keverich1, Kjetil r,Koavf, L Kensington, LFevas, Lanlan lanwan, Lotje, Lunchmeatistasty, Mahmudmasri, Malik Shabazz, Mandsford, Mashkin, MathKnight, Mav, Mibelz, MikeMarshall, Monegasque, Mr Death,MrDemeanour, Mushroom, NSH001, Ngoquangduong, Nikai, No Free Nickname Left, Nthep, NuclearWarfare, Number 57, Oatmeal batman, Ohconfucius, Omnipaedista, OneVoice, POY,Padres Hana, Paleorthid, PalestineRemembered, PamD, Parkwells, Pc84, Peruvianllama, Philip Stevens, PinchasC, PrinceRegentLuitpold, Private Butcher, Pyro19, Pyrotec, QuizzicalBee,RachelBrown, RadicalBender, Rami R, Rbanzai, Reenem, RexNL, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, Rodney Boyd, Ronhjones, Roo72, Rrostrom, Rydel, Schlüggell, Senjuto, Sheynhertz-Unbayg,Snoyes, Squiddy, The Prince Manifest, The pupils president, TheYmode, Thewellman, Tim Parenti, Timrollpickering, Tirtsa.k, TomFleet, Tony360X, Toussaint, Townoak, Tsiaojian lee,Valley2city, Ventusa, Victuallers, Voodochild, Wechselstrom, Wenli, Wierzba, Wmahan, Woohookitty, YUL89YYZ, YellowFives, Ynhockey, Zero0000, Zscout370, Åkebråke, אלנבי, דוד, ידanonymous edits חיים ויצמן, 212

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:ChaimWeizmann1948.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ChaimWeizmann1948.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Original uploader was SlimVirgin aten.wikipediaFile:Chaim Weizmann Signature.svg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Chaim_Weizmann_Signature.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Chaim WeizmannFile:Weizmann's passport photo.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Weizmann's_passport_photo.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Avner, 1 anonymous editsFile:Weizmann and feisal 1918.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Weizmann_and_feisal_1918.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Ashrf1979, Baronnet,Bontenbal, Celsius, Coyau, Fallschirmjäger, FunkMonk, G.dallorto, Martin H., Pieter Kuiper, Snowdog, Tarawneh, TheCuriousGnome, Wiggum, 4 anonymous editsFile:Vera & Chaim Weizmann, Herbert Samuel, Lloyd George, Ethel Snowden, Philip Snowden.jpeg  Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vera_&_Chaim_Weizmann,_Herbert_Samuel,_Lloyd_George,_Ethel_Snowden,_Philip_Snowden.jpeg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: -Image:Chaim Arlosoroff.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Chaim_Arlosoroff.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Aviados, Netanel h, Padres Hana,TheCuriousGnome, יעקבFile:Chaim Weizmann - Seyfullah Esin - Moshe Sharett 1950.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Chaim_Weizmann_-_Seyfullah_Esin_-_Moshe_Sharett_1950.jpg License: Public Domain  Contributors: Fritz CohenFile:Albert Einstein WZO photo 1921.jpg  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Albert_Einstein_WZO_photo_1921.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors:Adnghiem501, Aviados, Fadookie, Fastfission, Hailey C. Shannon, Talmoryair, 1 anonymous edits

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