Worked all her life for women's rights: former MK Tamar Eshel passed away

Tamar Eshel immigrated with her family from London to Israel at the age of 3, and at the age of 14 she was recruited into the Haganah organization.

She went to study in England and served there as a liaison officer for the Palmach until 1943, when she fought in the ranks of the British army and at the same time assisted the defense. She worked at the Foreign Ministry and the United Nations;

Today, on her 102nd birthday, she passed away

Eli Ashkenazi

24/07/2022

Sunday, July 24, 2022, 8:29 p.m. Updated: 10:21 p.m.

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Tamar Eshel (Photo: Government Press Office, Yaakov Sa'ar)

Tamar Eshel, a former member of the Knesset, fought in the Haganah and the Palmach, was a diplomat and an activist for women's rights. Today (Sunday), her 102nd birthday, she passed away.

Eshel was born in London on July 24, 1920. At that time, her parents were Zeev and Zilla Finkelstein - Shoham in England in the mission of the Zionist movement. Her grandparents, Israel and Penia Feinberg, were one of the founders of Hadera, and her uncle, Avshalom Feinberg, was one of the founders of the Nili underground.

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Tamar Eshel in the Knesset (Photo: Government Press Office, Nati Harnik)

When she was three years old, the family returned to the Land of Israel and Tamar grew up in Haifa.

When she was 14, she was recruited into the "Hagana" organization and served as a liaison.

During her studies at the university, at the time of the events she would go out to Atret and Lanu Ya'akov to maintain the connection with Jerusalem by signaling and she also went out to guard the posts in the border neighborhoods.

Then she went to study in England and with the outbreak of World War II was recruited by the "Haganah" organization to be a "Gideon" - the code name of the contacts in the Palmach - at a secret wireless station in London. She worked until 1943 when she enlisted in the British Army.

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Eshel as a soldier (photo: official website, the Palmach website)

"Demands arming the women."

Maariv, 1974 (Photo: Maariv)

In the uniform of the British army she served as a driver in Scotland and then moved to Cairo, where she served as an education officer and at the same time worked secretly with the defense representatives and assisted in smuggling Alia messengers, transferring weapons, gathering news and more.

At the beginning of 1948, she went to Europe as a representative of the Mossad for Aliyah B and engaged in aliyah activities in Marseille.

During her stay in Marseille, Tamar was also involved in preparing delivery certificates for the cannons, which were called "Napoleonic guns".

It was about five 65 mm cannons from the First World War, which in a race against time reached the front of the battles in the Jordan Valley and were a significant factor in stopping the Syrian army.

"Women in Israel are discriminated against".

Devar, 1974 (photo: official website, Devar newspaper)

After the declaration of independence, she dealt with the transfer of foreign volunteers to Israel and the opening of a transit channel for Moroccan Jews through Algiers.

In 1950 she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Among her positions in the office: in the research department, director of the director general's office, member of Israel's permanent mission to the United Nations, director of the technical assistance bureau in the prime minister's office.

In her role at the United Nations, she was a member of the Committee on the Status of Women, and was even appointed to the position of chairperson of the committee. In doing so, she was the first Israeli to chair a committee at the United Nations. Over the years, she was a prominent activist for women's rights.

Eshel in the Knesset with Golda Meir (Photo: Government Press Office, Yaakov Sa'ar)

In the years 1969-1974 she served as an advisor to Teddy Kolek, the mayor of Jerusalem.

In the years 1974-1977 she was the general secretary of the Naamat movement.

In the years 1977-1984 she was the ninth and tenth member of the Knesset on behalf of the Labor Party.

At the same time, she served as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem and in charge of the education portfolio.

In 1984 she retired and was active in public committees and volunteered in various organizations.

Tamar Eshel was awarded the title of Dearest of the City of Jerusalem and she was an honorary member of the Zionist Organization.

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