Dr. Yigal Yadin, the archaeologist who commanded Israel’s army in the 1948 War of Liberation, disclosed today that his retirement as Chief of Staff of Israel’s armed forces had been due to differences with Prime Minister David Ben Gurion over the question of a reserve army.
Dr. Yadin said he did not identify himself with any political party in Israel He expressed himself in favor of regional elections as compared to Israel’s proportional representation bloc list system, as the only way to get “new blood” into the country’s political life.
The scholar, who played such a great role in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, said in an interview today with the newspaper Haboker, that he had refused a number of Government posts, ranging from an ambassadorship to a Cabinet portfolio, in order to devote himself to scientific research.
“You can be nominated or dismissed as an ambassador or cabinet minister, ” he commented, “but in science, you must reach perfection by yourself. “
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
