Levi Eshkol, 1895-1969

Eshkol, Israel’s third prime minister, was a farm worker after arriving from Ukraine in 1914. He organized labor and became a Mapai and Jewish Agency leader. He founded the National Water Service and developed the National Water Carrier. He procured arms for the Haganah in the 1940s. As finance minister, he guided the economy through the 1950s austerity. As prime minister, he won the June 1967 war.

Photo: Fritz Cohen, Israeli Government Press Office