Nimrod, Dan

Jacob Dan Nimrod (1923-2002) was a Polish-Israeli-Canadian political commentator, active in various Zionist causes. Born in what is today the Ukraine, Nimrod, originally named Ya'acov Hebel, was active in the Zionist movement from a young age. At age 15, he migrated across Europe to the British Mandatory Palestine. At the outbreak of World War II, Nimrod enlisted in the British Army's Jewish Palestinian Unit and served in North Africa. He joined the Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization). At war's end, Nimrod served as Irgun's commander in several European countries, joining its general staff in 1947. Nimrod fought in the Arab-Israel war (1948-49). After the war ended, Nimrod served on the central committee for the Israeli nationalist party Herut (which later formed part of the Likud Party). During the early 1950s, Nimrod remained active in Israeli politics, writing under the name Ya'acov Lotan. In 1956, he emigrated to Canada, serving as a principal at a Jewish school and an independent teacher of Hebrew. He resumed his writing career in 1977, founding the Canadian Jewish Herald, a compendium of articles relating to Israeli politics. He formed the self-financed Dawn Publishing Company in 1979. Over the next 23 years, he edited, authored, or compiled 62 books, newspapers, monographs, magazines, anthologies, position papers, and special dossiers, and corresponded with people around the world.