Yael Medini nee Sharett (Shartok)

Yael Medini was born in Tel Aviv on September 1930, to Zipporah and Moshe Shertok (later Sharett) the second President of the State of Israel, sister to Yaakov (1929) and Chaim (1933). Her father, Moshe Sharett (1894-1965) was born in Kherson, Ukraine to Fanya (nee Lev) and Yaakov Shartok, an author, a publicist and a member of the BILU organization (Palestine Pioneers, a movement whose goal was the agricultural settlement of the Land of Israel). The family moved to the Land of Israel in 1906. They rented a mansion in the Arab village, Ein Sinia, north of Ramallah for two years. In 1908 the family moved to Jaffa. Upon completion of his studies in the Hebrew Gymnasia in Jerusalem in 1913, Moshe travelled to Istanbul to study law. His studies were interrupted by WWI. He was drafted into the Ottoman Army and served as an officer until the end of the war. After his release from the army, he worked with Yehoshua Chenkin in the Committee of Delegates. Upon its inception he joined Eliyahu Golomb and Dov Hoz (later his brother-in-laws) in the 'Achdut Havoda Party'. In 1921 he travelled to England to study Economics and at the same time he dedicated himself to his Zionistic activities and his journalistic writing. He married Tzippora Meirov in London in 1922. Tzipporah (1896-1973) was born in Davinsk, Russia to Freida (nee Meirovitz) and Yehuda Meirov, a member of the "Chovevei Zion" (Lovers of Zion). The family moved to Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv. Tzipporah studied in the Hebrew Gymnasia where she met Moshe, first as a student and then as a teacher. In 1919 she joined the group at Kinneret and worked in agriculture and other jobs. She travelled to England in 1922 to study agriculture and there she married Moshe. The couple returned in 1925. Tzipporah worked at the pioneering farm in Rishon Le'Zion. Berl Katznelson, a friend of Moshe, suggested that he be responsible for the English and Arab section of the "Davar" newspaper. Moshe joined the Mapai Party with its establishment in 1930. That same year, their daughter Yael was born. . In 1931, following the establishment of the Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem, Chaim Arlozoroff asked Moshe Shertok to come to Jerusalem to work with him in the Jewish Agency. The family moved to Jerusalem. At first they lived in Beit Hakerem, but two years later, they moved to Rehavia. They lived on Rashba Street and later moved to the corner of Radak and Alfasi Streets in an apartment that was composed of two apartments that had been connected together. Yael studied in the Hebrew Gymnasia until the fourth grade. She fell in love with learning Bible and was drawn to reading books. After four years at the school she insisted on moving to the school in Beit Hakerem. The spirit of the school encouraged social life, education and openness, and there was even a student council at the school. In addition to her studies Yael participated in the "Machanot Haolim" Youth Organization. The family moved to New York in 1947. Moshe was chosen to represent the Jews of Israel, on behalf of the Jewish Agency, at the United Nations, in anticipation of the vote on the Partition Plan. Yael studied at the School of Music and studied English, History and French, in the evenings. She was also a counselor in the Habnim Youth Group where she met Gideon Medinin (Medinski) whom she later married. With the establishment of the State Yael joined the Palmach whose fighters later became soldiers in the IDF. She joined the Nahal Brigade and served in the fighter's kitchen in the South. She joined Kibbutz Tzora. During this period Gideon came to Israel for two years before returning to New York to study psychology. Yael went to New York to be with him and studied educational psychology at NYU and literature and English at Hunter College, where she discovered her writing talents. Gideon and Yael were married in June 1951 in a modest ceremony in Cleveland. In 1957 they returned to Israel with their son Yotam. They settled in Ramat Gan. There they had two daughters, Tamar and Miriam. Gideon was one of the foremost psychologists in the city, and one of the founders of the clinical psychology program at Tel Aviv University. Yael wrote for adults, youth and children. Her stories were published in "Newspaper 77" and "Davar" and her radio plays were broadscast on "Kol Yisrael". Her book "The Child I Never Knew" won a prize from Yad VaShem and the Ze'ev Prize. Other books of hers include: "Lines and Arches" (1977); "Alfasi Corner of Radak" (Poalim Publishers, 1990); Paradise on the Border (Carmel, 2005). This photo album includes personal and family pictures of Moshe Sharett and Tzipporah Sharett and their three children; Yaakov, Chaim and Yael (Medini). Read more