Hurvitz Harry (1924-2008)

Hurvitz (Gurwitz) Harry Zvi (born 29 August 1924, Liepāja – died 1 October 2008, Kfar Saba, Israel) — journalist, diplomat, and political figure.

Harry Zvi Hurvitz was born in Liepāja, Latvia, to Maishe and Malshen (née Kutisker) Hurwitz. At age ten, his family emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, where they avoided the Holocaust.

From his youth, he was involved in the Betar movement, having attended a speech by Ze’ev Jabotinsky during a visit to Latvia prior to emigration. After completing his schooling, he became editor of The Jewish Herald, the weekly organ of the United Zionist Revisionist Party of South Africa, serving in that position for 25 years .

In 1946, during a visit to Mandatory Palestine, he clandestinely met with Menachem Begin—then leader of the Irgun—in Tel Aviv . He maintained close ties with Begin and later authored a biography on him, first published in 1977 and subsequently updated and reissued .

Following Begin’s election as Prime Minister in 1977, Hurwitz immigrated to Israel and became his Adviser for External Information; in 1980, he was appointed Minister of Information at Israel’s Embassy in Washington, D.C. . He returned to Jerusalem in 1983 to serve as Adviser on Diaspora Affairs under Begin and continued in that role under Yitzhak Shamir until 1992 .

In 1992, following Begin’s death, Hurwitz founded and presided over the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre in Jerusalem (opened in 2004), establishing it with a museum, archives, research institute, and library. During his tenure, he focused especially on curating Begin’s correspondence with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat from 1977–81, which included preventing an attack on Rosh Hashanah .

He received national honours, including the Prime Minister's Prize, and in 2008 was awarded the Yakir Zion Award by South Africa’s Zionist Federation in Israel .

Hurwitz passed away from a heart attack on 1 October 2008, during Rosh Hashanah, and was buried at Har HaMenuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem .

Note: If born in 1924 and emigrated at age ten in 1934, his early Betar involvement must have occurred just prior to emigration, which aligns with accounts of his attendance at Jabotinsky’s speech in that year .