Dr Avraham Katznelson (, 1888 – 18 May 1956), later known as Avraham Nissan, was a physician and Zionist political figure in Mandate Palestine. He was a signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

Biography

Katznelson was born in Bobruisk to Nissan HaCohen and Zelda Helena (née Rozovsky). He was the brother of Yosef, Reuven (father of former Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir), Shmuel, and Rachel, the wife of President Zalman Shazar. He studied in a traditional Jewish school and gymnasium, and later attended the Jewish Studies Academy in Saint Petersburg as well as Saint Petersburg University and Moscow University. He also studied at the Academy of Social Hygiene in Berlin. In 1912, he earned a doctorate in Natural Sciences, and in 1914, he qualified as a medical doctor. During World War I (1914–1918), he served as a military doctor in the Imperial Russian Army. From 1912, he was a member of the Zionist Executive. Between 1919 and 1920, he managed the Palestine Office in Constantinople, assisting immigrants making their way to the Land of Israel during the Third Aliyah. Katznelson was a member of the main office of the Hapoel Hatzair–Young Zionists federation in Berlin and Vienna from 1921 to 1924. He led the party alongside Eliezer Kaplan and Chaim Arlosoroff. In 1924, he immigrated to the Land of Israel and became the first director of the federation's office in Mandatory Palestine. He served as head of the Health Department of the Jewish Agency (1924–1930) and was a member of the management of the National Committee as the head of its health department (1931–1948). He was also a member of the League for the Fight Against Tuberculosis. Katznelson was a member of the Second, Third, and Fourth Elected Assembly representing Hapoel Hatzair and later Mapai. He held additional public positions, such as being on the Technion’s executive committee and the Palestine Broadcasting Service’s advisory council during the British Mandate for Palestine. As a member of the Zionist Executive, he served as the secretary of the health committee. In February 1932, he was elected to the Jerusalem Community Council on behalf of Mapai. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Katznelson was one of the founders of the "Medical Service" (19 December 1947), along with Dr. Moshe Feller, Dr. Yosef Meir, Dr. Mishulam Levontin, and Dr. Moshe Kreiger. David Ben-Gurion noted in his diary after meeting with the establishment team: Katznelson was a member of the Provisional State Council due to his role in the leadership of the National Committee and was among the signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. From the establishment of the state until March 1949, he served as the Director-General of the Ministry of Health. In 1949, he joined Israel’s delegation to the United Nations, where he participated in discussions regarding the convention for the prevention of prostitution, expressing opposition to government regulation of prostitution. Afterward, Katznelson joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From November 1950, he served for five years as Israel’s Minister Plenipotentiary to Scandinavia, based in Stockholm. In early 1956, he returned from his post due to illness, and he passed away a few weeks later. From 1919, he was married to Sima, daughter of Ze’ev Kaplan, who was also a physician. He was the father of Shmuel (a doctor, professor, and a pioneer in pediatric surgery in Israel) and Ze’evah (Zika), the wife of Matti Peled. Ze’evah was named after her maternal grandfather. His memory is commemorated with a street named "Avraham Nissan" in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood in Jerusalem.