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Yitzhak Navon obituary Yitzhak Navon obituary
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As the fifth president of Israel from 1978 to 1983, Yitzhak Navon, who has died aged 94, combined loyalty to socialist Zionism with a deep knowledge of “the Arab side” and a generally dovish outlook. He was well-regarded in office, partly because of his genteel public image but also because he was prepared to hold the government to account over alleged wrongdoings.As the fifth president of Israel from 1978 to 1983, Yitzhak Navon, who has died aged 94, combined loyalty to socialist Zionism with a deep knowledge of “the Arab side” and a generally dovish outlook. He was well-regarded in office, partly because of his genteel public image but also because he was prepared to hold the government to account over alleged wrongdoings.
In his last year as president he demanded – and won – a commission of inquiry into the massacre of hundreds of civilians in Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon, responsibility for which a UN commission laid at Israel’s door. The inquiry, which had been fiercely opposed by Menachem Begin’s government, led to the forced resignations of several ministers and of various military top brass. In 1980 Navon also laid down a marker by making the first official visit by an Israeli president to an Arab state, when he travelled to Egypt to meet President Anwar Sadat and charmed his hosts by speaking in Arabic. In his last year as president he demanded – and won – a commission of inquiry into the massacre by Christian Phalangists of hundreds of civilians in Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon. The resulting Kahan commission report held Israeli officers to be “indirectly responsible”; fiercely opposed by Menachem Begin’s government, it led to the forced resignations of several ministers and of various military top brass. In 1980 Navon also laid down a marker by making the first official visit by an Israeli president to an Arab state, when he travelled to Egypt to meet President Anwar Sadat and charmed his hosts by speaking in Arabic.
After the end of his term as president, Navon joined Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, in 1984, becoming a Labour party cabinet minister and then deputy prime minister in the government of national unity. At the height of his popularity, as the perennial leadership battle between Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres sapped Labour’s morale, he looked as if he might emerge as an alternative leader of the Israeli left. But after briefly entertaining the idea, ultimately his loyalty to Peres stayed his hand, and in 1990 he followed Peres and the rest of Labour into opposition after the collapse of the national unity government. By 1992 he had bowed out of active politics.After the end of his term as president, Navon joined Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, in 1984, becoming a Labour party cabinet minister and then deputy prime minister in the government of national unity. At the height of his popularity, as the perennial leadership battle between Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres sapped Labour’s morale, he looked as if he might emerge as an alternative leader of the Israeli left. But after briefly entertaining the idea, ultimately his loyalty to Peres stayed his hand, and in 1990 he followed Peres and the rest of Labour into opposition after the collapse of the national unity government. By 1992 he had bowed out of active politics.
Navon had continued to speak out against various state activities after leaving the presidency, and had condemned Mossad’s 1988 assassination of Abu Jihad, deputy leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, in Tunis. Yet he occasionally displayed a distinctly less liberal side, once telling a party rally: “The whole point of the Labour Zionist movement is to get the maximum of land with the minimum of Arabs.” Just as rightwing Israelis never quite forgave his stance on Sabra and Shatila, so formerly sympathetic Israeli Arabs and Palestinians could never condone this frank assertion of Israeli intentions.Navon had continued to speak out against various state activities after leaving the presidency, and had condemned Mossad’s 1988 assassination of Abu Jihad, deputy leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, in Tunis. Yet he occasionally displayed a distinctly less liberal side, once telling a party rally: “The whole point of the Labour Zionist movement is to get the maximum of land with the minimum of Arabs.” Just as rightwing Israelis never quite forgave his stance on Sabra and Shatila, so formerly sympathetic Israeli Arabs and Palestinians could never condone this frank assertion of Israeli intentions.
Born in Jerusalem under the British Mandate of Palestine, Navon was a Sephardic Jew whose father’s family originally came from Spain and whose mother was born in Morocco. This meant that when he took up the presidency he could boast a double first — no other Israeli president had actually been born within the borders of Palestine, nor had any other come from Israel’s Sephardi community. Born in Jerusalem under the British Mandate of Palestine, Navon was a Sephardic Jew whose father’s family had been driven out of Spain in 1492 and whose mother was born in Morocco. This meant that when he took up the presidency he could boast a double first — no other Israeli president had actually been born within the borders of Palestine, nor had any other come from Israel’s Sephardi community.
The young Navon studied Hebrew literature, Arabic, Islamic culture and education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After graduation he worked as a teacher, and from 1946 to 1948 he was active in the Arab department of the Haganah, the military wing of the Labour Zionist Movement, where his fluency in Arabic, Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish), Hebrew, French and English proved an invaluable asset. As the 1948 Arab–Israeli war loomed, Navon spent long hours in a basement within the Jewish Agency compound in Jerusalem, eavesdropping on telephone conversations between British and Arab officers, and thus giving the Zionists a vital strategic edge.The young Navon studied Hebrew literature, Arabic, Islamic culture and education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After graduation he worked as a teacher, and from 1946 to 1948 he was active in the Arab department of the Haganah, the military wing of the Labour Zionist Movement, where his fluency in Arabic, Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish), Hebrew, French and English proved an invaluable asset. As the 1948 Arab–Israeli war loomed, Navon spent long hours in a basement within the Jewish Agency compound in Jerusalem, eavesdropping on telephone conversations between British and Arab officers, and thus giving the Zionists a vital strategic edge.
After a spell of diplomatic work in South America, when he reputedly helped hunt former Nazis in exile, Navon returned to Israel in 1951 as political secretary to the foreign minister Moshe Sharett, spending two years in that role before becoming head of the prime minister’s bureau from 1952 to 1963 under David Ben-Gurion, then Sharett and then Ben-Gurion again. Navon’s judgment was crucial during this period, which witnessed a mass influx of Jewish refugees from post-Nazi Europe and the Middle East, the 1956 Sinai war, negotiations over German reparations for the Holocaust, the state’s often fraught relationship with Orthodox rabbis, and the long-running and debilitating Lavon affair, an unsuccessful attempt to destabilise Gamal Abdel Nasser’s government by bombing US targets in Egypt. After a spell of diplomatic work in South America, when he reputedly helped hunt former Nazis in exile, Navon returned to Israel in 1951 as political secretary to the foreign minister Moshe Sharett, spending two years in that role before becoming head of the prime minister’s bureau from 1952 to 1963 under David Ben-Gurion, then Sharett and then Ben-Gurion again. Navon’s judgment was crucial during this period, which witnessed a mass influx of Jewish refugees from post-Nazi Europe and the Middle East, the 1956 Sinai war, negotiations over German reparations for the Holocaust, the state’s often fraught relationship with Orthodox rabbis, and the long-running and debilitating Lavon affair, an unsuccessful attempt to destabilise Gamal Abdel Nasser’s government by bombing US targets in Egypt. After a two-year spell leading an effective initiative to combat adult illiteracy, Navon was first elected to the Knesset in 1965 on the list of Rafi, a new “modernising” party led by the increasingly maverick Ben-Gurion. Rafi proved to be a short-lived experiment, and Navon followed his colleagues into an expanded Labour party after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
After a two-year spell leading an effective initiative to combat adult illiteracy, Navon was first elected to the Knesset in 1965 on the list of Rafi, a new “modernising” party led by the increasingly maverick Ben-Gurion. Rafi proved to be a short-lived experiment, and Navon followed his colleagues into an expanded Labour party after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
In 1972 his election as chairman of the General Zionist Council was seen as a sign of new Sephardi assertiveness in the global Jewish community. Tipped to succeed the outgoing Israel president, Zalman Shazar, in 1973, Navon was thwarted by Labour’s central nomination committee. His uncharacteristically bitter response dissipated when he became chairman of the influential Knesset foreign affairs and defence committee in 1974. Now it was his lot to restore Israeli morale after the near debacle of the 1973 Yom Kippur war.In 1972 his election as chairman of the General Zionist Council was seen as a sign of new Sephardi assertiveness in the global Jewish community. Tipped to succeed the outgoing Israel president, Zalman Shazar, in 1973, Navon was thwarted by Labour’s central nomination committee. His uncharacteristically bitter response dissipated when he became chairman of the influential Knesset foreign affairs and defence committee in 1974. Now it was his lot to restore Israeli morale after the near debacle of the 1973 Yom Kippur war.
In 1978, after Labour’s defeat in the previous year’s elections, Navon’s surprise adoption as president over prime minister Begin’s own nominee came as some comfort. Without a doubt he was popular in the job, but after handing over the post to his old colleague Chaim Herzog in 1983, he never quite managed to turn his successes as president into a launchpad for a wider bid for political power. In 1978, after Labour’s defeat in the previous year’s elections, Navon’s surprise adoption as president over prime minister Begin’s own nominee came as some comfort. Without a doubt he was popular in the job, but after handing over the post to his old colleague Chaim Herzog in 1983, he never quite managed to turn his successes as president into a launchpad for a wider bid for political power. Ironically his decision to move away from active politics in 1992 came just as Labour swept back to power. His absence from the podiums at the peace breakthroughs of 1993 and 1994 must have saddened him. Later his relative moderation made him somehow out of place in an age of inflamed passions.
Ironically his decision to move away from active politics in 1992 came just as Labour swept back to power. His absence from the podiums at the peace breakthroughs of 1993 and 1994 must have saddened him. Later his relative moderation made him somehow out of place in an age of inflamed passions.
Navon was a noted patron of the arts and a great collector; many remember with affection the wonderful clutter of books and cultural artefacts that adorned his presidential office. There were always two Navons at work — one the astute political operator; the other a nostalgic bard whose two much-performed musical plays, Sephardic Romances (1968) and Bustan Sephardi (1970), celebrated the folklore and customs of Jerusalem. In 2014, the latter received its 2,000th performance.Navon was a noted patron of the arts and a great collector; many remember with affection the wonderful clutter of books and cultural artefacts that adorned his presidential office. There were always two Navons at work — one the astute political operator; the other a nostalgic bard whose two much-performed musical plays, Sephardic Romances (1968) and Bustan Sephardi (1970), celebrated the folklore and customs of Jerusalem. In 2014, the latter received its 2,000th performance.
Navon married his first wife, Ofira, a psychologist, in 1963 she died in 1993. He is survived by his second wife, Miri Shafir, whom he married in 2008. and by his two children from his first marriage, Naama and Erez. Navon married his first wife, Ofira, a psychologist, in 1963; she died in 1993. He is survived by his second wife, Miri Shafir, whom he married in 2008, and by his two children from his first marriage, Naama and Erez.
• Yitzhak Navon, politician, born 9 April 1921; died 6 November 2015• Yitzhak Navon, politician, born 9 April 1921; died 6 November 2015
• This article was amended on 9 November 2015. The fact that the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982 was committed by Christian Phalangists has been added, and mention of a “UN commission” (which should have been an “international commission”) has been replaced with mention of the Israeli inquiry, the Kahan commission. The origins of Navon’s father’s family have been made clearer: they came from Spain in the sense that they were driven out of the country in 1492.