Levi Eshkol born in Oratov, Ukraine
Levi Eshkoll is born in Czarist Russia in the shtetl of Oratov, which is in modern day Ukraine. His mother, Dvora comes from a family of Hasidic Jews, while his father, Joseph Shkolnik, is from a “Lithuanian” background, which often opposes Hasidism. Joseph is a farmer and merchant. He trades all he produces and also owns a flour mill. Eshkoll is the second of nine children. He is educated at a traditional Jewish primary school but is refused acceptance to the public high school because of his religion. Instead he attends the Hebrew Gymnasium in Vilna. When his parents offer to support him in highschool he replies:
Only if I come empty-handed will these hands be ready to work.
Levi Eshkol dies at 73
Levi Eshkol dies of a heart attack (his third) at his official residence where is recovering from a case of the flu. He complains of chest pains, at which point a doctor is called but he dies several hours later. Eshkol is survived by his third wife and four daughters.