Editing Isser Harel (section)

=== Childhood and youth ===
Isser Harel was born as Yisrael Natanovich Halperin in 1911 in the city of [[Vitebsk]], within the [[Pale of Settlement]] of the [[Russian Empire]] (modern-day [[Belarus]]), as the fourth child to a wealthy Jewish family. His father, Rabbi Natan-Neta Halperin, was a graduate of the Lithuanian [[Volozhin Yeshiva]], and his mother, Yocheved (née Levin), was a homemaker, the daughter of a wealthy local Jewish industrialist.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sela|first=David|title=This Week 70 Years Ago: Fighting Poachers and the Rise of the Citrus Industry|url= https://www.israelhayom.co.il/magazine/shishabat/article/13168628|date=13 October 2022|publisher=Israel Hayom|language=he}}</ref> His exact birthdate is unknown; it was recorded in his father's [[Talmud]] volume, but the book was lost due to the upheavals of the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] and [[World War I]]. The Halperin family owned a [[vinegar]] factory in Vitebsk, a gift from his maternal grandfather, who had held a [[concession (contract)|concession]] to produce vinegar in large parts of [[Russian Empire|Tsarist Russia]].

Whilst six years old, the [[Russian Civil War]] broke out, and Vitebsk changed hands several times between the [[White movement|Whites]] and the [[Red Army|Reds]]. He once attended a speech given by [[Leon Trotsky]] in his city. The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] regime confiscated the family's property, and they suffered from hunger.

In 1922, the family left the [[Soviet Union]] and relocated to the city of [[Daugavpils]] in independent [[Latvia]]. On their way, Soviet soldiers robbed them of their remaining possessions. In Daugavpils, he received a formal education, completing elementary school and beginning high school studies. In his book ''Security and Democracy'', he describes a significant event in the city related to Rabbi [[Meir Simcha of Dvinsk]], who served as the local rabbi. He writes that during a particularly rainy winter, the local river overflowed, threatening to breach the dam and flood the city. Rabbi Meir Simcha prayed for mercy, and shortly afterward, the waters began to recede, saving the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tsofar.com/zofar/mashtap/show_story.asp?id=7018|title=Complete description from the book|language=he}}</ref>

As he grew older, his Jewish national consciousness awakened, and he joined the [[Zionist]] [[youth movement]]. At the age of 16, Yisrael left for [[hachshara]] (agricultural training) in preparation for [[aliyah]] to [[Mandatory Palestine]]. During his year of training, he worked in [[agriculture]], aspiring to join a [[kibbutz]]. In 1929, following the outbreak of the [[1929 Palestine riots|1929 Arab riots]], his group decided to expedite their immigration to Palestine to support the [[Yishuv]]. At 17, Yisrael obtained forged documents that claimed he was 18, which allowed him to receive a certificate of immigration (certificat) from the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]]. In early 1930, he made [[aliyah]], crossing [[Europe]] from north to south and boarding a ship in [[Genoa]] bound for Palestine. He carried a [[pistol]], which he concealed in a loaf of bread.