Jabotinsky Institute chairman Tamir dies at 83

Receives burial in the Etzel (Irgun) and Lehi (Stern Group) section of Haifa Cemetery.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Peleg Tamir 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Peleg Tamir 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Jabotinsky Institute chairman Peleg Tamir, who died before dawn on Sunday at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, was buried the same day in the Etzel (Irgun) and Lehi (Stern Group) section of Haifa Cemetery.
Born in January 1928, Tamir could not help but grow up in the spirit of Jabotinsky. His grandmother Tamar Kopp, was Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s sister.
After completing his studies at the Reali School in Haifa in 1945, Tamir joined the Irgun Tzvai Leumi (Etzel – National Military Organization), and was actively involved in resistance operations against the British Mandate administration. Captured in the course of such an exercise, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
He was initially sent to jail in Acre, and from there to Latrun and Atlit.
He escaped from prison in 1947, curled in a suitcase that was carried out by another inmate who had completed his sentence and had been released.
He subsequently participated in the battle for Jaffa and together with other Etzel members triumphed in the Etzel conquest of the city.
With the creation of the state, he joined the nascent IDF, serving in various capacities in the Israel Air Force. His final position in the IAF was as head of human resources.
Tamir stepped down from the IDF with the rank of colonel in 1968 after 20 years of active service.
While still in the military, he earned a law degree from Tel Aviv University, and an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington.
In 1978 he underwent a course for senior managers at Harvard, and in 1995 he received a master’s degree in musicology from Tel Aviv University.
After leaving the IDF, he was appointed general manager of the Israel Manufacturers Association, serving in the post for 20 years, before moving on to become managing director of Danot Investment Industries.
Tamir sat on the boards of several public and privately owned companies including Israel Aircraft Industries, El Al Israel Airlines, First International Bank, and Israel Industrial Bank. He also sat on the bench as a representative of the public in the National Labor Court.
In addition, he was a member of the board of the not for profit Heritage Film Company, which produced and distributed films based on national heritage, and he served on the board of the Ramat Gan Foundation.
From 1982-1984, Tamir was chairman of the Public Council and the administrative board of the Israel Chamber Orchestra, after which he spent three years in London as the European director of Israel Bonds.
From 1988-1992, he was CEO of the Shikun U’Pituach construction company and from 1992-2006 he headed the National Center and State Museum of the Israel Defense establishment.
In 1984, Tamir accepted the chairmanship of the Jabotinsky Center, and according to his colleagues, filled the role with distinction and in a voluntary capacity until his dying day.
The Jabotinsky Center (jabotinsky.org) is now adjacent to Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan. It aims to foster and disseminate the legacy of Jabotinsky and the National movement, and to encourage scholarly research on these subjects. The institute's main components are the Jabotinsky Museum and the Archives of the Jabotinsky Movement.