Zev Vilnay
Zev Vilnay (Hebrew: זאב וילנאי, 1900–1988) was an Israeli geographer, author and lecturer.
![](../I/m/Zeev_Vilnai_1935.jpg)
Biography
Volf Vilensky (later Zev Vilnay) was born in Kishinev. He immigrated to Palestine with his parents at the age of six and grew up in Haifa. He served as a military topographer in the Haganah, and later in the Israel Defense Forces.[1]
Vilnay and his wife Esther lived in Jerusalem. One son, Matan was a politician who served as a member of the Knesset and held several ministerial portfolios before becoming ambassador to China. Their eldest son is Oren Vilnay, an expert in structural Engineering who established a new department of Civil Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Land of Israel studies
![](../I/m/Zev_vilnay_1927_trip_samaria.jpg)
Vilnay was a pioneer in the sphere of outdoor hiking and touring in Israel. Vilnay lectured widely on Israeli geography, ethnography, history and folklore.[1] His Guide to Israel was published in 27 editions[2] and translated into many languages.[3]
In the 1974 edition of his guide, Vilnay describes how he helped bring back to Israel the boat of a British naval officer, Thomas Howard Molyneux, who sailed the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea to map the region in the 19th century.[4]
Vilnay was a member of the first place-naming committee established by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in 1950.[5]
Awards and recognition
- In 1974, Vilnay received the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award.[6]
- In 1981, he was the co-recipient (jointly with Avraham Even-Shoshan) of the Bialik Prize for Jewish thought.[7]
- In 1982, he was awarded the Israel Prize, for knowledge and love of the Land of Israel.[8]
Published works in English
- Legends of Palestine (1932)
- The Guide to Israel (first published in 1955)
- The Holy Land in Old Prints and Maps (1965)
- The New Israel Atlas: Bible to Present Day (1968)
- The Changing Face of Acco
- Legends of Jerusalem (3 volumes)
- Legends of Galilee, Jordan & Sinai (1978)[9]
- Legends of Judea and Samaria
- The Vilnay Guide to Israel: A new Millennium Edition (2 volumes) (1999), written and edited after his death and according to his instructions by Oren and Rachel Vilnay
Published works in Hebrew
- Entziklopediya Liyidiat Haaretz (3 volumes) (1956)
- Yerushalayim (2 volumes) (1960–62, 1970)
- Eretz Yisrael Betmunot Atikot (1961)
- Matzevot Kodesh Be'eretz Yisrael (1963)
- Tel Aviv-Jaffa (1965)
- Yehudah Veshomron (1968)
- Sinai, Avar Vehoveh (1969)
- Golan Vehermon (1970)
- Ariel – Entziklopediya Lidiyat HaAretz (10 volumes) (1976–82)
References
- Encyclopaedia Judaica, "Zev Vilnay," Keter Publishing, Jerusalem, 1972, vol. 16, p. 151
- The Vilnay Guide to Israel 2 vols Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- "Zev Vilnay, Geographer, 87". The New York Times. 1988-01-23.
- Eli Ashkenazi, 19th-century British explorer's boat returns to Dead Sea, Haaretz, 4 Nov 2007, accessed 22 July 2019
- In Arabic and in Hebrew, a name is more than just a name, Haaretz
- "Recipients of Yakir Yerushalayim award (in Hebrew)". City of Jerusalem official website
- "List of Bialik Prize recipients 1933-2004 (in Hebrew), Tel Aviv Municipality website" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2007.
- "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1982 (in Hebrew)".
- Legends of Galilee, Jordan & Sinai