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Opinion

Remembering Chaim Weizmann, the brilliant first president of Israel

The renowned polymath and father of the state was a legendary figure in the three different fields in which he left his mark

November 3, 2022 14:02
Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - President Chaim Weizmann
4 min read

This week marks 70 years since Israel’s first president, most eminent scientist and trailblazing politician died.

Born in 1874 in Russia to a large yet humble household, Chaim Weizmann and his 14 siblings wanted for everything — except an education.

Indeed, such was the importance of learning in the Weizmann family that despite their stark poverty all but one of the children became scientists, doctors, dentists, engineers and teachers.

Chaim was a scientist, moving around the world to whichever country would allow him to climb the professional ladder. Denied further education in Russia because of the strict quotas applied to Jews wanting to enrol in university, he left to study and then teach chemistry in Germany and Switzerland.

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Israel