Israel Potpourri Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann was a chemist by profession. Interestingly enough, another scientist, the great theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, was offered the position of President of Israel on Weizmann's death, but refused. Ben-Gurion was Israel's first Prime Minister. Ezer Weizmann, seventh President of Israel and a former commander of Israel's much vaunted Air Force, was the nephew of Chaim Weizmann. With that notable exception, Israel does not have Presidential dynasties.

Answer: ICQ

ICQ (I Seek You) was invented by four Israeli computer-mad teenagers in the 1990s. MIRC is an internet relay chat programme. SMS is a short message service for use on cellular phones. As for IMXpress, I just made that one up.

Answer: Yosef Burg

Yosef Burg was the longest-ever serving member of the Knesset (Parliament), holding various cabinet posts during his 37 years of service. Golda Meir was Israel's first (and so far, only) female Prime Minister. Menachem Begin was the Likud Party leader who brought about a revolution in 1977, leading the first non-Labour Party government. Levi Eshkol, PM from 1963-1969, is little known outside Israel but headed the government at the time of the Six Day War.

Answer: Zubin Mehta

Zubin Mehta is, of course, Musical Director for Life of the better-known Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1940 as the Kol Yisrael (Voice of Israel) Orchestra. The JSO is still the orchestra of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and known officially as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra IBA. For many years, the orchestra's "home" was the YMCA auditorium opposite Jerusalem's luxurious King David Hotel, but after the Jerusalem Performing Arts Centre opened its doors in 1975, the JSO moved to the Centre's purpose-built Henry Crown Symphony Hall. Having attended concerts and appeared myself at both venues, I can tell you that, apart from the improved acoustics, the latter is also much more comfortable, not only for the performers, but also for the audience!

Answer: Yigael Yadin

Before becoming a world-famous archaeologist, Yigael Yadin had a distinguished military career and was, in fact, Israel's second Chief-of-Staff. Later on, he went into politics, founding the short-lived Democratic Movement for Change. Yossi Yadin, his brother, was a well-known Israeli actor. Yigal Allon was an Israeli politician, best known perhaps for conceiving the Allon Plan, for the settlement of the Israel-Arab dispute. Yigal Amir is currently serving a life sentence for the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin on November 4th 1995, although there are a number of conspiracy theories floating around and a considerable body of citizens believe him to be innocent.

Answer: S.Y. Agnon

S.Y. Agnon was born in Galicia, but eventually made his home in Israel, settling in Jerusalem. In 1966, he shared the Nobel Prize for literature with the German-Jewish writer Nelly Sachs. After he died, his home in the Talpiot neighbourhood of Jerusalem was turned into a museum. It's not far from where I live :-)

Answer: Degania A

Degania A, to the south of the Sea of Galilee and so-called to distinguish it from the later settlement, Degania B, was founded in 1910 and is known as the Mother of the Collective Settlements. Nahalal, in the Jezreel Valley, was founded in 1921 and was the first "moshav shitufi" (communal agricultural settlement, in which members work their own plots of land). Petach Tikva, known as the Mother of the Settlements, was the first town founded in the Land of Israel's modern history by a group of Jewish pioneers from Jerusalem, in 1878. Kfar Etzion is a religious kibbutz in the Judaean Hills, south of Jerusalem.

Answer: 28 years

Theodor (Teddy) Kollek (1911-2007) was mayor from 1965-1993, serving no less than 6 consecutive terms and finally losing to Ehud Olmert, who later became Prime Minister. Teddy died in 2007 at the age of 95. His name is commemorated in the Teddy Stadium, one of the biggest sports venues in the country and home to the capital's two football teams, Beitar Yerushalayim and Hapoel Yerushalayim.

Answer: Ilan Ramon

Col. Ilan Ramon (1954-2003) was one of the seven crew members of the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia, which left earth on 16 January 2003 for what was to be a 16-day mission. Tragically, the shuttle exploded on re-entry to Earth's atmosphere on 1 February 2003, with the loss of all on board. She was only 16 minutes away from home. Many people have looked for esoteric meaning in the constant recurrence of the number 16 in this tragedy.
Haim Ramon is an Israeli politician blessed with extraordinary resilience - or extraordinary good luck - since his conviction in 2007 for indecent assault doesn't seem to have done his political career the slightest harm.
Haim Barlev was the 8th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (1968-1972).
Ilan Barlev is my own invention.

Answer: Naomi Shemer

Naomi Shemer, who has written the "definitive" songs for many of Israel's wars, was born in 1930 in Kibbutz Kinneret - the same Kibbutz on the banks of the Sea of Galilee so beloved by the poetess Rachel Bluwstein-Sela (aka Rachel) who lived there for a while. Both Rachel (d.1931) and Naomi Shemer (d.2004) were buried in the cemetery of Kibbutz Kinneret, final resting place of many famous personalities (writers, scholars, Zionist leaders and others).
The song was first performed at the Israel Song Festival of 1967 by Shuly Nathan.
Paul Ben-Haim was one of the founding generation of Israeli "classical" composers.