Aviva Rabinovitch

Aviva Rabinovich-Vin (; March 23, 1927 – July 7, 2007), better known as simply Aviva Rabinovich, was a professor of botany, chief scientist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (1970-1988), and an environmental activist.

Biography

Aviva Rabinowitz, daughter of Hannah and Naftali, was born in Ein Harod, lived in Jerusalem and in Kfar Warburg, where her parents established a farm, and studied in Beer Tuvia. In 1944 she enlisted for Palmach (retired in 1949), fought in the 1948 Palestine war and was wounded in combat. )

Initially she was assigned a non-combatant job of secretary and communications duties in Company H, but was discharged due to her temper. She returned to the farm, but due to the invasion of Arabs she moved to Kiryat Anavim, where Palmach's Fourth Battalion was quartered and re-enlisted as a patrolwoman of Company A under Uri Ben-Ari (of what now became the Harel Brigade) and took part in all battles of the Company.

After the discharge she settled in kibbutz Kabri, together with some members of the Harel Brigade. She married Hillel Vin and they had two children Gila and Ron. She resided there for the rest of her life. In particular, she spearheaded a claim before the High Court of Justice against the JNF and several governmental organizations stating that they aggressively handled the areas assigned for afforestation, which resulted in severe ecological damages and she won a verdict that the prescribed activities in preparation to afforestation did cause grave damages to the ecosystem and were in violation of the law for many years. Despite the controversy, JNF placed Aviva Rabinovich on their research committee and she became a lecturer in its professional training. In early 1980s she introduced computerized ecological databases. She served as NRA Chief Scientist during 1970-1988 and described by Alon Tal as "one of Israel's most provocative ecologists".