Itamar Ben-Avi
1882–1943 (age 61)
Biography
Itamar Ben-Avi, the first native speaker of modern Hebrew, was born in 1882 and became a journalist and politician who tirelessly promoted Hebrew culture and a unified Jewish public discourse.
He used his pen and his public presence to advocate for a vibrant Jewish polity in Palestine, believing that a renewed national language would nourish democratic practice and communal solidarity.