| Ephraim Katzir | |
| Nationality: | Israeli |
| Order: | 4th |
| Office: | President of Israel |
| Primeminister: | Golda Meir Yitzhak Rabin Menachem Begin |
| Term Start: | 24 May 1973 |
| Term End: | 29 May 1978 |
| Predecessor: | Zalman Shazar |
| Successor: | Yitzhak Navon |
| Birth Place: | Kiev, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) |
| Death Place: | Rehovot, Israel |
| Party: | Israeli Labor Party |
| Spouse: | Nina Gottlieb |
| Children: | 3 |
| Profession: | Scientist |
| Signature: | Katzir, Ephraim signature.svg |
| Native Name Lang: | he |
Ephraim Katzir (he|אפרים קציר|translit=Ep̄rayim Qaṣir; – 30 May 2009) was an Israeli biophysicist and Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978.[1]
Ephraim Katzir was born in 1916 to Yehuda and Tzila Katchalsky[2] in Kyiv in the Russian Empire, where his parents had fled to from Poland during World War I. In 1920, his family returned to Poland and settled in Łódź. In the early 1920s, they immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and settled in Jerusalem.[3] In the early 1930s, he studied at the Gymnasia Rehavia in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem and was a youth leader in HaNoar HaOved. Shulamit Laskov, one of his classmates, described him:[4] Like his elder brother, Aharon, Katzir was interested in science. In 1933, Katzir completed high school and later pursued studies in biochemistry[5] at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Due to the university's policy requiring lecturers to teach in Hebrew, Tzherna Reiss asked Katzir to assist her by translating her lectures. In return, she taught him the details of her research on the properties of plankton, which influenced Katzir's future scientific endeavors.[6]
In 1939, he completed the Officer Course (Platoon Commanders Course) of the Haganah in Yavne'el and became responsible for scientific operations in the organization's research department. In 1941, Katzir earned his doctorate under the supervision of Max Frankel. In May 1948, he was appointed Commander of Science Corps (Hemed) in the IDF with the rank of lieutenant colonel (then one rank below Aluf).[7]
During the 1940’s, Katzir and his brother worked on the development of new methods of warfare. In late 1947, after the outbreak of the 1948 Palestine war, and in anticipation of the War for Israel’s Independence, Katzir met the biochemist David Rittenberg in an attempt to procure poison. Chaim Weizmann initially dismissed the request and requested his dismissal from the Sieff Scientific Institute in Rehovot, but weeks later he relented, and his dismissal was rescinded.[8]
In May 1948, Ben-Gurion appointed Ephraim to replace his brother as director of the HEMED research unit, given his success abroad in procuring biological warfare materials and equipment to produce them.[9]
In 1949, Katzir joined the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he established and headed the Department of Biophysics until his election as President in 1973. During part of this time, in the 1950s, he was a member of the Volunteer Corps. He lived and worked at the Weizmann Institute until his death. From 1966 to 1969, he served as the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Defense,[10] a newly created role that replaced the position of Scientific Advisor to the Minister of Defense, previously held by Ernst David Bergmann since the establishment of the state. A committee he chaired reviewed the organization of governmental research and recommended the establishment of the role of Chief Scientist in various Israeli government ministries. The Chief Scientist's position in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce became a significant catalyst for the development of Israel's high-tech industry. In 1966, he was appointed a member of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission.[11]
Katzir placed significant emphasis on fostering scientific education. Along with Professor Shlomo Hestrin, he was the founding editor of the journal Mada and later served as a member of its editorial board. He chaired the Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Education for Youth from its establishment in 1968 until after his retirement from the presidency. Katzir continued his scientific research alongside his various non-scientific roles and even after stepping down from them. His research included the study of protein structures, aspects of solubility and insolubility, energy transfer between proteins, enzyme kinetics, and the chemical degradation of proteins. One of his most notable contributions was the development of a method for enzyme immobilization, which is widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries.[12] [13]
In March 1973, Katzir was nominated by the Israeli Labor Party as its candidate for the position of President of Israel after defeating Yitzhak Navon in the party's central committee vote. Katzir was the candidate of the former Mapai faction, supported by figures such as Golda Meir and Pinchas Sapir, while Navon was backed by the former Rafi faction. In April 1973, Katzir was elected by the Knesset as President, defeating Ephraim Elimelech Urbach.[14] He began his term on May 24, 1973. Katzir was the first President of Israel who grew up in the country. Upon his election, he Hebraized his name to Katzir, following the example of his brother, Aharon Katzir, who had been murdered the previous year.[15]
During his presidency, Katzir initiated the awarding of the President's Medal for Volunteerism, with the first recipients in 1974 being Yaakov Maimon and the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers. His term coincided with the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. His statement on November 24, 1973, regarding responsibility for the war’s preparations – – drew significant criticism as it was perceived as an attempt to downplay the responsibility of the country’s leaders and military. This comment is often remembered as "we are all to blame."
On November 19, 1977, Katzir was the first to welcome President of Egypt Anwar Sadat during his historic visit to Israel.[16]
Katzir chose not to serve a second term as President. Upon completing his single term in 1978, he retired, citing two main reasons: his love for science and his belief that
At the end of his presidency, all the gifts he had received were recorded as state property. However, certain artworks were loaned and displayed in his hometown of Rehovot.[17]
After retiring, Katzir returned to scientific research, focusing primarily on basic protein studies. He headed the Biotechnology Center at Tel Aviv University, where he was a founding member and active participant. He also taught and contributed to the center's scientific activities. In 1984, he joined the Academic Advisory Council of ORT Israel as its President. From 1986 to 1990, he served as President of World ORT.[18] [19]
In 1988, Katzir was appointed Chairman of the National Biotechnology Committee and later became its President. In these roles, he significantly advanced biotechnology research and industry in Israel.[20]
On May 30, 2009, Katzir passed away at his home at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot at the age of 93. In accordance with his wishes, he was buried not in the National Leaders' Plot at Mount Herzl but in the Rehovot cemetery, beside his wife Nina.[21]
His name has been commemorated in streets in Hod Hasharon, Ness Ziona, and Rehovot.
He also received honorary degrees from various scientific societies and universities worldwide. The Department of Biotechnology Engineering at the ORT Braude Academic College of Engineering in Karmiel was named after him during his lifetime.
Katzir’s older brother, Professor Aharon Katzir, was also a scientist and joined him at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where he served as head of the Department of Polymer Research. Aharon was killed in the Lod Airport massacre in 1972,[29] carried out by Japanese terrorists.[30]
Katzir’s wife, Nina Katzir, the daughter of Meir Gottlieb, was born in Poland and passed away in 1986 in Israel. She was an English teacher renowned for her innovative teaching methods. She contributed a column to the "Jerusalem Post" dedicated to issues in teaching foreign languages. As First Lady of Israel, she organized meetings between children’s authors and their young readers. She initiated the celebration of International Children's Week in Israel, during which diplomats’ spouses shared stories about Israel with children in their home countries. Following the Yom Kippur War, she stirred minor controversy when she arranged for thousands of copies of "Playboy" magazine to be distributed to soldiers on the front lines at their request.[31] [32]
Katzir and his wife had three children: one son, Meir Katzir, who serves as a professor of mathematics at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and two daughters who passed away at a young age. Their daughter Nurit died in a gas inhalation accident.[33] In 1978, the "Nurit Katzir Municipal Theatre Center" in Jerusalem was established in her memory.[34] Their other daughter, Irit, ended her own life.[35]
