Yosef Avidar
Yosef Aluf Avidar (Hebrew: יוסף אבידר; 7 May 1906 – 13 September 1995) was an Israeli statesman, Haganah commander, author and ambassador to Argentina and the Soviet Union.[1] Early lifeAvidar was born on 7 May 1906 as Yosef Rochel[2] in Kremenets in the Russian Empire and in what is now modern-day Ukraine. His father was Joshua Rochel; his mother, Shprinza.[3] Avidar was a peddler during his time in Ukraine.[4] In 1929 Avidar immigrated to Mandatory Palestine.[4] CareerAvidar became a senior commander in a Jewish paramilitary organization called the Haganah.[5] Placed in control of the supply programs,[4] he was responsible for the idea and of constructing an underground ammunition factory called the Ayalon Institute, which was a major supplier of arms to the Haganah.[2][6] In 1948, after the creation of the Israel Defense Forces, he changed his name from Rochel to Avidar based on an acronym of his two daughters' names.[7] Avidar was the Israeli quartermaster during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and later served as the Israel Defense Forces' deputy chief of staff.[8] After the war, he served as ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1958 and as ambassador to Argentina from 1961 to 1965.[9] DeathAvidar died on 13 September 1995 at the age of 89 from a lung infection.[4] Personal lifeAvidar lost his right hand when he was learning how to use grenades, and was given the nickname "the amputee".[2] He was sent to Vienna for treatment, where he met the future Israeli children's book author and later wife Yemima Avidar-Tchernovitz,[2] who at the time was studying at the University of Vienna.[7] He received a Doctor of Philosophy in Russian studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[9] Works
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