Ben-Yehuda Eliezer (born Perelman) (1858, Lushki, Vilna Governorate – 1922, Jerusalem) – philologist, educator, journalist, public figure, and pioneer of the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language.
Born into the family of a Lubavitch Hasid, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda lost his father at the age of five. At 13, he began studying at a yeshiva in Polotsk, where, under the influence of the head of the yeshiva—who secretly supported secular education—he was introduced to secular literature in ancient Hebrew.
Ben-Yehuda learned Russian and enrolled in the Real Gymnasium in Dvinsk (now Daugavpils), graduating in 1877. From 1878, he studied medicine in Paris. In 1879, he published an article, “The Burning Question”, in the newspaper Ha-Shachar, signing it Ben-Yehuda for the first time.
In 1879, he contracted tuberculosis and, in an effort to move to Palestine more quickly, enrolled in the Alliance Teachers' Seminary. In 1881, he emigrated to Palestine and changed his surname to Ben-Gurion. His family became the first in Palestine to speak exclusively Hebrew at home, and his son, Ben-Zion (Itamar Ben-Avi), became the first native speaker of Hebrew in over a thousand years, after the language had ceased to function as a spoken vernacular.
From 1882 to 1885, Ben-Yehuda taught at the Alliance school in Jerusalem and successfully ensured that Hebrew was recognised as the sole language of instruction for all Jewish subjects.
In 1884, he founded the weekly newspaper Ha-Tzvi, which in 1908 became a daily newspaper (renamed Ha-Or in 1910 and in publication until 1915). It was the first periodical in Hebrew to meet European journalistic standards.
Ben-Yehuda created a vast number of neologisms, many of which remain in modern Hebrew. He advocated for a simple and clear style of language and led a campaign in his publications against Jewish institutions in Palestine that relied on donations from the diaspora, provoking fierce opposition from Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community. As a result, in 1894, he was accused of incitement to rebellion and sentenced to one year in prison. However, his arrest caused an uproar among Jewish communities, leading to an appeal and his eventual release.
In 1890, together with David Yellin, Aharon Mazia, and others, Ben-Yehuda founded Va'ad Ha-Lashon Ha-Ivrit (The Committee of the Hebrew Language), the predecessor of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, which was officially established in 1920 at his initiative. He remained its chairman until his death.
From 1910, he began publishing the Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew, a project completed in 1959 with the publication of its 18th volume.
At his proposal, Hebrew was declared one of the three official languages of the country—alongside English and Arabic—following the establishment of the British Mandate over Palestine.