Ben-Aharon served as a Knesset Member in the first 8 Knessets, up until the mid-1970's, in various formations of the Labor Party. In 1995, he was awarded the Israel Prize for his service to society and to the country.



The Kibbutz Movement issued an announcement praising Ben-Aharon for having been one of the founding leaders of the State of Israel and for having known how to "lead the ideology that combined Zionism and socialism."



Shimon Peres said Ben-Aharon was "one of the spiritual fathers of the workers' movement," while MK Prof. Avishai Braverman, former Dean of Ben Gurion University, said, "Ben-Aharon symbolized a different path in politics - a path of integrity, faith and values, a path that has culture and humanism." Tourism Minister Yitzchak Herzog (Labor), grandson of Israel's first Chief Rabbi, said, "Ben-Aharon was a 'priest and a prophet' of the Labor movement for generations."



Prime Minister Olmert, President Moshe Katzav, Education Minister Yuli Tamir and others had similar words of praise.



Ben-Aharon's body will lie in state on Sunday afternoon. He will not be buried, as his will states that his body be used for science.