Hanani, Ḥaim
HANANI, ḤAIM
HANANI, ḤAIM (1912–1991), Israeli mathematician. Hanani was born in Slupca, Poland, and studied at the universities of Vienna (1929–31) and Warsaw (1931–34), where he received his M.A. Immigrating to Ereẓ Israel in 1935, he obtained his doctorate in mathematics from the Hebrew University in 1938. On his arrival in Ereẓ Israel, Hanani joined the Betar movement and later the Irgun Ẓeva'i Le'ummi, playing a central role in its activities in Jerusalem. As a result, he was arrested by the British in 1944 and, after a period of imprisonment at Latrun, was sent to detainee camps in Eritrea and Kenya. Returning to Israel after his release in 1948, he held various teaching posts, and was appointed associate professor of mathematics at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in 1955 and full professor in 1962. He was also dean of the faculty of mathematics. As adviser to the Ministry of Education from 1964 to 1967, Hanani urged the establishment of an institute of higher learning in the Negev, and when it became the University of the Negev in 1969 he was appointed its first rector. He has published numerous articles in the field of mathematics in Hebrew, German, French, and English.