Dr Chaim Weizmann was born in Russia in 1874; He studied biochemistry in Germany and Switzerland. He contributed to the independence of British industry from German industry in the field of explosives. The reward for this is...
He was born on November 2, 1874, in the village of Motele in the Grodno province of Russia, close to the Polish border, and died on November 9, 1952, in Rehovot, Israel. His father was transporting timber on river rafts. After completing his secondary education, he went to Germany and studied chemistry at the universities of Darmstadt and Berlin. After receiving his doctorate degree from the University of Friborg in Switzerland in 1900, he worked as a lecturer at the University of Geneva between 1900-1904 and at the University of Manchester in England between 1904-1916.
Chaim Azriel Weizmann (27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israeli statesman who served as president of the Zionist Organization and later as the first president of Israel. He was elected on 16 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952. Weizmann was fundamental in obtaining the Balfour Declaration and later convincing the United States government to recognize the newly formed State of Israel.
Raised with Jewish culture and ideals, he took part in the Zionist movement at a young age. He attended all Zionist congresses starting in 1898 and became a congress delegate in 1901. In 1903, at the 4th Zionist Congress, he opposed Britain's proposal of Uganda instead of Palestine as a Jewish settlement and opposed Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, on this issue. In November 1917, the British government played an important role in publishing the famous Balfour Declaration, which promised Jews a "national home" in Palestine, which led to an increase in its influence within the Zionist movement, and in the same year, the British Zionist Federation, and in 1921, the World Zionist Federation. He was elected president of the organization.
After the Balfour Declaration was approved by the League of Nations in 1922, the increase in Jewish immigration to Palestine led to the reaction of the Arabs in the region and occasional conflicts. In the face of this situation, Weizmann, who advised to be cautious against England, which began to withdraw its support from the Jews, and argued that the change could take place step by step, was accused by some Zionists of surrendering to England. Britain's decision to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine in May 1930 was the culmination of these developments, and Weizmann, protesting this decision, resigned from the presidency. After receiving a vote of no confidence in him at the following year's congress, he returned to his scientific studies and founded a research institute in Palestine. Meanwhile, he also led the efforts to save German Jews and their wealth after the Nazis came to power.
In 1935, he was re-elected as president of the World Zionist Organization. His support for the Peel Commission's plan to divide Palestine between Arabs and Jews, appointed by the British government in July 1937, caused a revival of criticism against him. Weizmann, who was influential in getting Jews to serve in the British army during World War II, blamed illegal Zionist organizations for committing violent acts against England, which did not support the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine after the war. For this reason, he was deposed from the presidency at the Zionist Congress in 1946. In 1948, he met with US President Harry Truman in an official capacity and played an important role in the US abandoning its plan to place Palestine under UN tutelage and recognizing the State of Israel to be established. Weizmann, who became president of the Provisional State Council after the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, was elected as the first president of Israel in February 1949 and continued in this position until his death.