Eliyahu Lankin
| Eliyahu Lankin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date of birth | 25 September 1914 |
| Place of birth | Gomel, Russian Empire |
| Year of aliyah | 1933 |
| Date of death | 10 August 1994 (aged 79) |
| Knessets | 1 |
| Party represented in Knesset | |
| 1949–1951 | Herut |
Eliyahu Lankin (Hebrew: אליהו לנקין, 25 September 1914 – 10 August 1994) was a Revisionist Zionist activist, Irgun member and an Israeli politician.
Biography
Lankin was born in Gomel, and moved with his family to Manchuria at the age of three in the wake of the October Revolution. He studied at the Russian High School in Harbin. At the age of 16, he joined Betar and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine three years later. He served in the Betar companies and in 1934 joined the Irgun. He was a member of Menachem Begin's General Headquarters, and was in charge of alighting illegal immigrants. In May 1944, he was appointed Commander of the Jerusalem District. He took part in the attack on the District British Intelligence in Jerusalem (14 July 1944). In December 1944 he was arrested by the British as a result of informing by the Haganah and was exiled to Africa. After several attempts, he succeeded - the only one of 107 prisoners[1] - in escaping from the camp in Eritrea on November 10, 1945. Eventually, he arrived in Paris in January 1947 and was appointed commander of the Irgun headquarters in Europe. He commanded the Altalena, which he brought to Israel. After coming ashore, he was arrested by the Israeli government and was kept in administrative detention for two months, along with four other Irgun commanders.[2]
On release, he joined the IDF, graduated from an officer's course, and was a battalion commander.[2] He served as a member of the first Knesset, representing Herut. Later, he studied law at the Hebrew University, and was certified as a lawyer in 1954. After the Likud's rise to power, he was appointed ambassador to South Africa in the years 1981–1985.[3]
Bibliography
- The Story of the Captain of the Altalena (1974 autobiography) (Hebrew)
References
- ↑ Tesfai, Alemseged (2002-08-11). "A Bit of Eritrean History at Bridport, UK". Retrieved 2007-12-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Eliyahu Lankin". etzel. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
- ↑ Reuters (1983-02-26). "Israeli Refuses to Take Envoy Post in London". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
External links
- Eliyahu Lankin on the Knesset website
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