Netiva Ben-Yehuda

Netiva Ben Yehuda (Hebrew: נתיבה בן-יהודה‎, born 26 July 1928) is an Israeli author, editor, and former soldier of the Palmach. Her writings in particular have made her one of its most famous members.

[edit] Biography

Ben Yehuda was born the daughter of Baruch Ben-Yehuda, teacher of maths and director general of the first Israeli ministry of education^[1]. She joined the Palmach at the age of 19 and was trained in demolition, bomb disposal, topography, and scouting. Her duties included transferring ammunition, escorting convoys, and training recruits. She commanded a sapper unit^[2], and fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War^[3]. She was considered a discus throwing candidate for the Olympics, but a bullet injury to her arm kept her from pursuing an athletic career.^[1] She left the army in 1949, studied at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and later in London, and eventually returned to Jerusalem where she studied Hebrew Philosophy at the Hebrew University. More recently, she has been the host of a program broadcast on national Israeli radio.

[edit] Quotes

On the subject of the Palmach: "I don't think that there has ever been any other underground movement in the world in which 'male chauvinism' triumphed so powerfully and so proudly".^[4]

[edit] Bibliography

• The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang (with Dahn Ben Amotz), Zmora Bitan, 1972 [Ha-Milon Le-Ivrit Meduberet]
• 1948 - Between Calendars (novel), Keter, 1981 [Ben Ha-Sefirot]
• The World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang, Part 2 (with Dahn Ben Amotz), Zmora Bitan, 1982 [Ha-Milon Le-Ivrit Meduberet II]
• Blessings and Curses (writings), Keter, 1984 [Brachot U-Klalot]
• Through the Binding Ropes (novel), Domino, 1985 [Mi-Bead L'Avotot]
• Jerusalem from the Inside (novel), Edanim, 1988 [Yerushalayim Mi-Bifnocho]
• Autobiography in Poem and Song (folk songs), Keter, 1991 [Otobiografia Be-Shir U-Zemer]
• When the State of Israel Broke Out (novel), Keter, 1991 [Ke-She Partzah Ha-Medinah]

[edit] See also

• Ein al-Zeitun

[edit] External links

• Homepage (In Hebrew)
• "Front line combat" audio essay by Ben-Yehuda at BBC online

[edit] References