Berl Katznelson

Katznelson was the intellectual center of labor Zionism, described as its conscience rather than its administrator. He helped create the Histadrut labor federation, the Kupat Holim health fund, the workers' bank, and the newspaper Davar, which he edited. He argued for a socialism rooted in Jewish tradition and memory rather than a break from it, and he wrote the wording of the Yizkor memorial prayer used for fallen defenders. His influence on Ben-Gurion and the founding generation was profound, though he never held state office — he died four years before independence.