Moses (Moshe) Sharett

Moses (Moshe) Sharett
Name	Moshe Sharett
Native name	משה שמיר
Birth date	15 October 1894
Birth place	Kherson, Russian Empire
Death date	7 July 1965
Death place	Jerusalem, Israel
Office	Prime Minister of Israel
Term start	1953
Term end	1955
Predecessor	David Ben-Gurion
Successor	David Ben-Gurion
Other roles	Foreign Minister of Israel, Director of Political Department, Jewish Agency representative

Moses (Moshe) Sharett

Moses Sharett was an Israeli statesman, diplomat, and the second Prime Minister of Israel, noted for his emphasis on diplomacy, legal norms, and moderation. He played central roles in the Yishuv, the Provisional Government of Israel, and early Israeli statecraft, interacting with leading figures and institutions across Europe, North America, and the Middle East. His career intersected with major events such as World War I, the British Mandate for Palestine, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and early Cold War diplomacy.

Early life and education

Sharett was born in Kherson in the Russian Empire and emigrated with his family to Ottoman Palestine during the Second Aliyah, settling in Petah Tikva and later Jaffa. He studied at the Alliance Israélite Universelle schools and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and he pursued law and economics at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. During World War I he was conscripted by Ottoman authorities, and his experiences occurred alongside figures from the Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Palestine. His education placed him in networks that included contemporaries associated with Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.

Zionist activism and diplomatic career

Sharett joined the Zionist Organization's political work and became a key official in the Jewish Agency for Palestine's Political Department, collaborating with leaders such as Chaim Weizmann, Arthur Balfour’s contemporaries, and diplomats from the British Foreign Office. He served as the Jewish Agency representative in London and engaged with the United States Department of State, the League of Nations milieu, and colonial administrators in Egypt and Transjordan. He negotiated with representatives of the Arab Higher Committee and interacted with emissaries tied to the British Mandate for Palestine, Reginald Wingate, and Sir Herbert Samuel. Sharett's diplomatic activity connected him with the emerging postwar architecture involving the United Nations and delegations to the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP).

Role in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

During the 1948 conflict Sharett held senior positions in the provisional executive, coordinating with military and political actors such as the Haganah, Palmach, Yishuv institutions, and commanders including Yitzhak Rabin and Yigal Allon. He engaged in ceasefire diplomacy with envoys from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, and Lebanon, liaising with representatives of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and mediators like Folke Bernadotte. Sharett worked closely with foreign interlocutors including members of the United States diplomatic corps and officials from the Soviet Union who were active in the immediate postwar settlement discussions.

Political career and tenure as Prime Minister

Sharett served as Israel’s first Foreign Minister and succeeded David Ben-Gurion as Prime Minister in 1953, leading a coalition that included leaders and parties such as Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda, and figures like Pinchas Rosen and Moshe Dayan in the national leadership. His premiership occurred amid crises involving Egyptian politics under Gamal Abdel Nasser, border incidents with Syria and Jordan (then ruled by the Hashemite monarchy of King Hussein), and regional tensions influenced by the Suez Canal question and Cold War alignments involving the United States, the Soviet Union, and European capitals including London and Paris. He later handed the premiership back to David Ben-Gurion in 1955.

Domestic policies and governance

As head of government and as Foreign Minister, Sharett worked with domestic institutions like the Knesset, the Histadrut, and the Jewish Agency, interacting with ministers such as Golda Meir and judges of the Supreme Court of Israel. His administration faced social and economic challenges involving immigration absorption from Europe, North Africa, and Yemen, coordinating with municipal authorities in Haifa and Tel Aviv-Yafo and welfare programs shaped by leaders including Moshe Dayan and Levi Eshkol. Sharett emphasized legal safeguards and civil administration, consulting with civil servants from the Mandatory Palestine bureaucracy and advisors who had served under Sir Herbert Samuel and later British officials.

Foreign policy and international relations

Sharett prioritized diplomatic engagement and negotiated with international actors including the United States Department of State, the United Kingdom Foreign Office, and the United Nations leadership such as Trygve Lie and later Dag Hammarskjöld. He pursued armistice agreements with neighboring states, interacting with delegations from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria and with mediators from UNTSO and representatives like Ralph Bunche. His foreign policy navigated relationships with superpower patrons—meeting envoys from the Soviet Union, negotiating with representatives of the United States embassy, and corresponding with leaders in France and Italy. Sharett sought cautious approaches toward the Palestinian issue, contacts with Arab League representatives, and engagement with diaspora communities in North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe.

Later life, legacy, and assessment

After leaving the premiership Sharett remained an influential parliamentarian and elder statesman, interacting with subsequent leaders such as David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Rabin. Historians and biographers have compared his restraint and legalism to the approaches of contemporaries like Chaim Weizmann and contrasted him with more hawkish figures associated with the Irgun and Lehi movements, or with military leaders such as Moshe Dayan and Yigal Allon. Assessments appear in scholarly works on the Founding Fathers of Israel, Cold War Middle Eastern policy studies, and diplomatic histories concerning the UN and Arab–Israeli conflict. His papers and correspondence are used by researchers tracing interactions with entities such as the Jewish Agency, the Zionist Organization, and foreign ministries in Washington, D.C., London, and Paris. Sharett died in Jerusalem in 1965; his legacy is commemorated in institutions, streets, and studies that reflect on mid-20th-century statecraft in Israel.

Category:Prime Ministers of Israel Category:Jewish Agency for Israel Category:Israeli diplomats