Moshe Ziffer

Moshe Ziffer was an Israeli sculptor who worked in stone, wood and bronze and made memorials and portrait busts.

1902 to 1989Israeli stone sculptureBusts of Einstein and Ben-GurionSculpture garden in SafedWar memorials at Hulda and Nitzanim

Born: 24 April 1902, Przemyśl
Died: 9 April 1989, Tel Aviv
Occupation: artist, sculptor
Education: University of Applied Arts Vienna, Berlin University of the Arts

Moshe Ziffer was born in 1902 in Przemyśl

Moshe Ziffer was born in 1902 in Przemyśl, Galicia, then part of Austria-Hungary. His father was a builder. He went to a Polish gymnasium, grew up in a Zionist home and was a member of Hashomer Hatzair.

He sailed from Odessa on the Ruslan and reached Jaffa in December 1919. He worked as a pioneer, planting trees at Be'er Tuvia and building the Haifa road. In 1924 he joined the founders of Kibbutz Beit Alfa.

After an injury he began carving wood and went to study sculpture in Vienna, Berlin and Paris. In Berlin he met Albert Einstein, who gave him a grant for his studies. In April 1933 he left Germany and returned to Jerusalem, where he taught sculpture.

His works include memorials at Hulda and for the Givati Brigade and Nitzanim fighters. He made busts of Einstein, David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann. He left his Safed sculpture garden to the city and his Tel Aviv home and many works to Tel Aviv University. He died in 1989 in Tel Aviv.