Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was a Zionist labor movement leader and historian who served as the second President of Israel. He was born in 1884 in the Russian Empire and was active in Jewish self-defense organizations in Ukraine during pogroms. After moving to Palestine, Ben-Zvi was a central figure in Hashomer and took great interest in Jewish history and communities in Israel. He authored twenty volumes on the history of Jewish settlement in Israel and established the Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi research institution after his death.

1. YITZHAK BEN-ZVI

2. EARLY LIFE
-Ben-Zvi was born in Poltava which is in the Russian
Empire
-Born on November 24 1884 and died on April 23 1963
-Oldest son of Zvi Shimshelevitz
-In 1905, Ben-Zvi was active in the Jewish self-defense
organized in Ukraine to defend Jews during the pogroms
-He studied law at Istanbul University from 1912 to
1914
-In 1915, he moved to New York City where he engaged in
Zionist activities
-Born into a family that followed Jewish tradition

3. EARLY INFLUENCES
-His influence was his father Zvi Shimshelevitz
-Shimshi was a leading Zionist activist in the 19th century
-Shimshi was the only member of the First Zionist
Congress to live to see the birth of Israel

4. Contribution to Zionism
-Zionist labor movement leader and historian
-Elected second president of the state of Israel
-One of the founders of a Jewish defense organization in
Ukraine
-After immigrating to Palestine, Ben-Zvi was a central figure
in Hashomer
-Yitzhak Ben-Zvi took great interest in the various
Jewish communities that came to Israel, and in the
history of Jewish settlement in the land of Israel

5. -He himself wrote twenty volumes on the history of Jewish
communities and on the unbroken chain of Jewish
settlement in the Land of Israel since the days of the
Second Temple.
-His work led to Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
-After his death, the Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi research
institution was established

6. RESOURCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Ben-Zvi
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/State/
Yitzhak+Ben-Zvi.htm
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/ben-
zvi.html