Yitzhak Shamir was born Yitzhak Yezernitsky
Shimon Peres was born Szymon Perski
Golda Meir was born Golda Mabovitch
David Ben-Gurion was born David Grün
Levi Eshkol was born Levi Shkolnik
Yigal Allon was born Yigal Peikowitz
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was the son of Zvi Shimshelevich who changed his name to Shimsi
Moshe Sharett was born Moshe Shertok
Why the name changes? Was it part of the excitement of returning to the land and a new identity that came with it? Was it a shaking off of the residue of bad treatment by the gentiles in golus and names, that while Jewish in a way, had gentile origins? Was it part of a complete departure from the past including that of mitzvah observance and traditional Jewish identity?
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