Hana Meisel (Hebrew: חנה מייזל, born 25 December 1883, died 1972) was a Jewish agronomist, feminist and Zionist leader.

Hana Meisel
חנה מייזל
Born(1883-12-25)December 25, 1883
Died1972 (aged 88–89)
Nahalal, Israel
Burial placeNahalal Cemetery
Political partyPoale Zion
Hana Meisel

Life

edit
 
Meisel (middle row, third from left) with students at her agricultural school in 1912, Kinneret Farm

Meisel was born in Grodno in the Russian Empire (today Hrodna in Belarus),[1] and immigrated to Palestine in 1909, during the Second Aliyah, where she became a noted agronomist. Meisel was a founder of Havat HaAlamot (Hebrew: חוות העלמות, "the maidens' farm") agricultural school at Kinneret Farm in 1911 (closed in 1917), and of the agricultural school for girls at Nahalal (opened in 1929). She studied agriculture and natural science in Odessa, Switzerland and France.

Meisel made considerable contributions to the feminist wing of the Zionist movement. She was a member of Poale Zion and was elected to the Assembly of Representatives.

She was married to Eliezer Shohat, also a well-known figure in the Zionist movement, much like his brother Israel Shochat.

Hana Meisel died at Nahalal in 1972.

In literature

edit

Meisel is referenced in Shmuel Yosef Agnon's fictionalized travelogue of the Second Aliyah HaGalilah (in English as "To the Galilee"[2]), published in his posthumous volume Pithei Devarim.

References

edit
  1. ^ Joan Comay, Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok, "Who's who in Jewish History" Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-26030-2, page 145
  2. ^ "To the Galilee". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
edit