Origin

Born: October 16, 1886
Died: December 1, 1973

Location: Płońsk, Poland (Russian Empire)

Father: Avigdor Grün

Mother: Scheindel

Religion: Zionist

Wife: Paula Munweis

Children: Three

Education

College: University of Warsaw

Military

1918: British Army, 38th Battalion of the Jewish Legion

Politics

1920: General secretary of the Histadrut, the Zionist Labor Federation in Palestine.

1930: Paole Zion Right and Labour Unity joined forces to create Mapai, the right-wing Zionist labor party.

1935: Chairman of the executive committee of the Jewish Agency for Palestine.

Policies

1936-1939 (Arab Revolt in Palestine: Instigated a policy of restraint ("Havlagah") in which the Haganah and other Jewish groups did not retaliate for Arab attacks against Jewish civilians, concentrating only on self-defense.

1937: The Peel Commission recommended partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab areas and Ben-Gurion supported this policy.

1938: 'In our political argument abroad we minimize Arab opposition to us. But let us not ignore the truth among ourselves. [...] A people which fights against the usurpation of its land will not tire so easily. 'According to Flapan, Ben-Gurion's assessment of Arab feelings led him to emphasize the need to build up Jewish military strength: 'I believe in our power, in our power which will grow, and if it will grow agreement will come...'.