Zvi Lurie

Zvi Lurie was a Jewish political figure in Mandatory Palestine. A member of the Jewish National Council, he was amongst the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.

Biography

Zvi Lurie was born in Łódź in the Russian Empire. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1924. Lurie was a founder of kibbutz Ein Shemer.

Zionist and political activism

Lurie was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, serving as its general secretary between 1935 and 1937. He was a member of the Jewish National Council on behalf of Hashomer Hatzair, a prominent socialist Zionist youth movement, from 1935 to 1937, and was co-opted into the Provisional State Council following Israel's declaration of independence in May 1948. He also helped establish Kol Yisrael, which broadcast the declaration. He was also a representative of the Mapam labor party, which was a left-wing Zionist party. As a committed labor leader, he was involved in Jewish community affairs and had an influential role in the political organizations guiding the Yishuv.
After signing the declaration, Lurie left Israel to work on strengthening ties between Israel and the Jewish people with the Jewish Agency as a representative of Mapam. He died in 1968.