Herzl Berger

Herzl Berger was born in 1904 in Minsk

Herzl Berger was born in Minsk in 1904. His parents were Zionist activists, and his father was among the early members of Poale Zion in the city. He was named after Theodor Herzl.

He attended the Reali High School in Minsk and belonged to the banned Zionist youth movements Hashomer Hatzair and HaHaver. In 1921 he moved to Białystok in Poland and joined Poale Zion Right. He later studied at the University of Jena in Germany and earned a doctorate in law.

In Germany he served as secretary of Poale Zion, and he then returned to Poland, where he worked on the newspaper Das Vert. In 1934 he moved to Tel Aviv and joined the editorial board of Davar. He was also a political commentator for Kol Yisrael and a member of the Haganah.

He entered the Knesset for Mapai in February 1951, replacing Yehudit Simhonit, and was re-elected several times. He was deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 1958 he turned down an offer to serve as ambassador in Moscow.

In 1962 the Tel Aviv municipality gave him the Sokolov Award. He died of cancer at his home in Tel Aviv on 28 August 1962 and was buried in Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery.