Charlie Biton
Encyclopedia
Charlie-Shalom Biton is a former Israel
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
for Hadash
and the Black Panthers between 1977 and 1992.
in Morocco
, Biton made aliyah
to Israel in 1949 at the age of two. He grew up in Musrara
neighbourhood of Jerusalem and attended an ORT
vocational school.
In 1971 he was amongst the founders of the Israeli Black Panthers movement, and was one of its leaders. The party narrowly missed out on a seat in the 1973 elections
, finishing 2,336 votes short of crossing the electoral threshold. In 1974, after violent protests, he was sentenced to seven months in prison for assaulting a police officer. Biton went into hiding to avoid his sentence, and was later pardoned.
As the Black Panthers became aligned with Hadash, he was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 1977
. He was re-elected in 1981
, 1984
and 1988
. On 25 December 1990 he left Hadash to establish his own faction. The faction's name was not initially approved by the House Committee, but on 1 January 1991 it was named Black Panthers.
In the 1992 Knesset elections
he headed a list named Hatikva, but it won only 2,053 votes (0.1%), well below the 1.5% electoral threshold, and Biton lost his seat. The list ran again in the 1999 elections, but again failed to cross the threshold.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
for Hadash
Hadash
Hadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:...
and the Black Panthers between 1977 and 1992.
Biography
Born in CasablancaCasablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Biton made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel in 1949 at the age of two. He grew up in Musrara
Musrara, Jerusalem
Musrara also known by its Hebrew name, Morasha is a neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is bordered by Meah Shearim and Beit Yisrael on the north, the Old City on the south and east, and the Russian Compound and Kikar Safra to the west.-History:...
neighbourhood of Jerusalem and attended an ORT
World ORT
World ORT is a non-profit non-governmental organization whose mission is the advancement of Jewish and other people through training and education, with past and present activities in over 100 countries....
vocational school.
In 1971 he was amongst the founders of the Israeli Black Panthers movement, and was one of its leaders. The party narrowly missed out on a seat in the 1973 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1973
The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement...
, finishing 2,336 votes short of crossing the electoral threshold. In 1974, after violent protests, he was sentenced to seven months in prison for assaulting a police officer. Biton went into hiding to avoid his sentence, and was later pardoned.
As the Black Panthers became aligned with Hadash, he was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 1977
Israeli legislative election, 1977
The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...
. He was re-elected in 1981
Israeli legislative election, 1981
Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...
, 1984
Israeli legislative election, 1984
Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977...
and 1988
Israeli legislative election, 1988
Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.-Results:1 Five members of the Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea; after two returned, the party was renamed the New Liberal Party...
. On 25 December 1990 he left Hadash to establish his own faction. The faction's name was not initially approved by the House Committee, but on 1 January 1991 it was named Black Panthers.
In the 1992 Knesset elections
Israeli legislative election, 1992
Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...
he headed a list named Hatikva, but it won only 2,053 votes (0.1%), well below the 1.5% electoral threshold, and Biton lost his seat. The list ran again in the 1999 elections, but again failed to cross the threshold.