ELIAV, ARIE

(Lova)

(1921- )

Born in Moscow, he immigrated (seeALIYA) toPalestinewith his parents in 1924. Eliav was educated at Herzliya High School inTel Aviv. He served in theHaganafrom 1936 to 1940 and from 1940 to 1945 with the British army. He served in theIsrael Defense Forcesduring theWar of Independence(1948—49).From 1958 to 1960, Eliav served as the first secretary in the Israeli embassy in Moscow. He served as the secretary general of theIsrael Labor Partyfrom 1969 until 1971. Following theSix-Day War(1967), Eliav became increasingly critical of the Labor Party, particularly its policies toward theArabpopulation. He eventually split from Labor and formed a leftist group called the Independent Socialists. In 1977, this party joined other leftist groups and formed theShelli(Peace for Israel) Party. The party advocated the establishment of an Arab Palestinian state alongside Israel, Israel's withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, and negotiations with thePalestine Liberation Organization. After serving in theKnessetfor 13 years, Eliav resigned in 1977. He rejoined the Israel Labor Party in 1986 and was elected to the Knesset in 1988 on theAlignmentlist. He received theIsrael Prizein 1988. Eliav remains an active and respected elder statesman of Israel's peace movement.

See alsoPolitical parties.