Idelson, Beba
IDELSON, BEBA
IDELSON, BEBA (née Trachtenberg ; 1895–1975). Israeli labor leader; member of the First to Fifth Knessets. Idelson was born in Dnepropetrovsk in the Ukraine. She studied at the local gymnasium and began studying law and economics at Kharkov University. She worked as a teacher and in statistics institutes and joined Ẓe'irei Ẓiyyon. She was exiled to Solvicigovsk in 1923, but in 1924 she was allowed to immigrate to Palestine. She started her journey through Germany and in the years 1924–26 was active in the World Union of Socialist Zionists. She finally settled in Palestine in 1926, joining *Mapai, and starting to work in the *Histadrut as a statistician and in various other jobs. From 1930 to 1974 she was secretary of the Women's Workers Council (Mo'eẓet ha-Po'a lot), traveling extensively in this capacity. On behalf of Mapai she participated in the Zionist Congresses in 1935, 1937, 1939, and 1946. When David *Remez was detained by the British authorities on "Black Saturday" in June 1946, she joined the *Va'ad Le`ummi. She was a member of the Provisional State Council in 1948, and in 1949 was elected to the Knesset on the Mapai list. In the Third and Fifth Knessets she served as deputy speaker and served on several Knesset committees, including the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 1968–75 Idelson was chairperson of the World Movement of Pioneer Women.
[Susan Hattis Rolef (2nd ed.)]