ARIELI, YEHOSHUA

ARIELI, YEHOSHUA (Loebl; 1916–2002), Israeli historian. Born in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czechoslovakia, Arieli was taken to Ereẓ Israel in 1931. In 1933 he joined kibbutz Hefẓi Bah. In WWII he served in the British Army, was captured by the Germans, and was a prisoner of war for four years. In 1947 he joined the haganah , and was placed in charge of the Jerusalem Gadna (Youth Battalions). In 1953 he received his Ph.D. in American history from Harvard University. Arieli was appointed to the staff of the Hebrew University in 1966 and from 1967 served as chairman of the department of American studies. Between 1976 and 1991 he served as chairman and member of the board of directors of the Historical Society of Israel. Arieli's main fields of research and teaching were American history, historiography, and early modern history. Among his books is Political Thought in the United States, 2 vols. (1967–68). In 1993 he was awarded the Israel Prize for history.