Soldier and archeologist. Son of the late Eliezer I. Sukenik, a professor of Archaeology in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he shared his father’s love for rediscovering the secrets of the past. Brilliant in military tactics, he applied his knowledge of ancient battle strategy effectively to defeat the superior Egyptian forces in the Negev during the Israel War of Independence in 1948.

As soon as he could be relieved from his military duties, Yadin returned to his first love, archeology. Yadin’s gift for deciphering the past led him to the study of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. His introduction and commentary to The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness won him the Israel Prize for scholarly achievement. In 1965, he reported a number of significant archeological finds in Masada. A founder and the leader of the middle-of-the-road Democratic Movement for Change (DASH) in Israel, he became Israel’s deputy prime minister in 1977.