Azaria Alon (1918–2014)

Azaria Alon was born to a Jewish family in Ukraine and immigrated with them to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1925. They lived first in Kfar Yehezkel, a moshav in the Jezreel Valley. The family later moved to a new place, but Alon returned to the Jezreel Valley at age 20 and settled permanently on Kibbutz Bet Hashita. In 1952, he married his wife Reut, with whom he had four children.
He was a co-founder in 1953 of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and was considered a father of conservation and environmentalism in that country. He worked as a teacher and guide around Israel for many years, and hosted the radio program The Landscape of Our Country from 1959 until his death. Alon wrote dozens of books on nature and geography, including children’s books that drew young readers to love nature. In addition, he edited The Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna in Israel. In 2012, Alon and two colleagues received the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement for exceptional contributions to society and the environment. Previously, he received the Herzl Prize (2010), a lifetime achievement award from the Environmental Protection Ministry (2008), and the Yigal Allon Prize for Exemplary Pioneering Activities (1994), among others.