Ari Ankorion

Ari Wolowitzky (later Ankorian) was born in Kalvarija in the Russian Empire. He attended a heder and a Hebrew science and technology school. He studied law at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas and was certified as a lawyer. While a student, he joined the Zionist Students Organisation in Kaunas. He was also a member of the Socialist Zionist Party and the League for a Workers Israel. In 1933 he made aliyah to Mandate Palestine.

He died in 1986 at the age of 77.

After the move to Palestine, he worked as a lawyer in Jerusalem. Between 1934 and 1935 he was a member of the Mapai secretariat in the city. From 1936 until 1938 he was a London correspondent for Davar. Whilst in London he also attended the London School of Economics, gaining a PhD in philosophy. After returning to Palestine, he worked as a legal advisor for Hevrat Ovdim, the Histadrut's holding company, from 1940 until 1946.

He was on the Mapai list for the 1961 elections, and although he failed to win a seat, he entered the Knesset on 7 July 1965 as a replacement for the deceased Moshe Sharett.[1] However, he lost his seat in the November 1965 elections. Nevertheless, he returned to the Knesset for a second time on 26 February 1969 as a replacement for Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, who had died in office.[2] He was re-elected in the October 1969 elections, and again in 1973, before losing his seat for a final time in the 1977 elections.

• Ari Ankorion on the Knesset website