Former Education Ministry Director-General Ben-Zion Dell Passes Away at 86
Ben-Zion (Benci) Dell, an educator and jurist who served as Director-General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 86. His funeral was scheduled for Saturday night in the moshav of Nachalim, where he resided.
Due to the proximity of Yom Kippur, the mourning period, or shiva, will conclude by Sunday afternoon. Dell dedicated decades to the field of education. From 1996 to 1999, he was the Director-General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, during which time Zevulun Hammer served as Minister of Education. Prior to that, in 1990, Hammer appointed him Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Education.
Dell began his career in education many years earlier. In the 1960s, he taught and served as vice principal and later principal of the Netzach Israel school in Petah Tikva. In the 1970s, he was an aide to Michael Hazani when Hazani was Deputy Minister of Education and Minister of Welfare. He later became director of the Development Department and then director of the Teaching Staff Department at the Ministry of Education.
Born and raised in Nachalat Binyamin, Dell studied at Yeshivat Hadarom and was part of the Ivana group of Bnei Akiva. He served in the paratrooper unit of the Nahal Brigade in the IDF and concurrently worked as a youth leader for Bnei Akiva branches. He held teaching certifications and degrees in education, political science, Jewish education, and law.
Throughout his career, Dell combined his educational work with extensive public service. He chaired the administrative board of the Givat Washington Educational Campus and the Mazmor School of Music. He also served on the boards of Sha'arei Mishpat Academic Center, Orot Israel College, and the Cameri Theater.
In 2011, he headed the "Dell Committee," a public committee that examined parental payments in religious state junior high schools and girls' schools. Earlier, he was a leader of the "Zman Masa" program, aimed at strengthening Jewish identity in state schools nationwide. Dell was married to Tzipora, lived in Nachalim, and is survived by five children. His daughter Moriah is married to artist and cartoonist Guy Charca.
