| Esther Raziel-Naor | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 November 1911 |
| Place of birth | Smarhoń, Russian Empire |
| Year of aliyah | 1923 |
| Date of death | 11 November 2002 (aged 90) |
| Knessets | 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th |
| Party | Gahal |
| Former parties | Herut |
Esther Raziel-Naor (Hebrew: אסתר רזיאל-נאור, 29 November 1911 – 11 November 2002) was a Revisionist Zionist, Irgun leader and Israeli politician. She was the sister of fellow Irgun leader, David Raziel.
Contents |
Raziel was born in Smarhoń (now in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus) in 1911, a year after her brother, David. Her household spoke Hebrew, as her parents refused to speak the more common Yiddish. In 1914 her family immigrated to Eretz Israel, after her father was offered a Hebrew teacher’s position at the “Tachmoni” school in Tel Aviv. However, when World War I broke out the family was deported by the Ottomans, along with other Russian nationals, to Egypt. She moved back to Russia and returned to Palestine in 1923, after an 8-year absence[1].
In 1932 she joined Betar and organized the "National Cells". In 1935 she completed the Levinsky Teachers Seminary in Tel Aviv and moved to Jerusalem to work as a teacher, but was fired after being caught wearing a Betar insignia. She returned to Tel Aviv and took a "Lieutenants" course[2].
In 1936, as the Arab Revolt broke, she joined her brother in the Irgun. She took a first aid course and in August she took participated in a reprisal. In 1939 she was became first broadcaster of the Irgun’s underground radio station, "Kol Zion Halohemet", as well as a writer for "Hamashkif", its newspaper. In 1943 she was selected to be a member of the Irgun’s command structure[2].
On March 4, 1944, the police raided her parents’ house and found the radio transmitter. She was arrested along with her husband, Yehuda Naor, and was jailed in Bethlehem (Yehuda was taken to Acre and later deported to Africa, where he stayed for four and a half years, until the establishment of the State of Israel). She was pregnant at the time of her arrest and on August 18, 1944, after a seven month internment, she was released and gave birth shortly after. She was placed under house arrest and was frequently investigated[2].
On July 22, 1946, following the King David Hotel Bombing, she was once again arrested and was sent to the Latrun detention camp, where she remained for several weeks. After her release she remained under strict surveillance and was prevented from continuing her underground activity[2].
After the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was accepted on November 29, 1947, she returned to Kol Zion. After the establishment of the State of Israel) she joined Herut and was elected for it in 1st through 7th Knessets. Throughout her 25 year service she was a member of the Education and Culture Committee and the House Committee. In the election to the 8th Knesset she was replaced by Geula Cohen[2].
She died on November 11, 2002, and was buried in Jerusalem[3]. Her son, Aryeh Naor, was Government Secretary under both of Menahem Begin's governments and his wife is Miriam Naor, a supreme court judge.