Yitzhak Peretz (politician born 1936)
Encyclopedia
Yitzhak Peretz was an Israel
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
between 1974 and 1988.
in Morocco
in 1936, Peretz made aliyah
to Israel in 1950. He attended the Mikveh Yisrael agricultural high school, and later Bar-Ilan University
. In 1956 he joined Mapai
. He worked as a teacher in Rishon LeZion between 1957 and 1963. In 1963 he became a member of Dimona
city council. Two years later he joined the new Rafi, and following its leader David Ben-Gurion
when he broke away to establish the National List
in 1968.
In 1971 he became mayor of Dimona, a post he held until 1974 when he was elected
to the Knesset on the Likud list (an alliance of Herut
, the Liberal Party
, the Free Centre
, the National List and the Movement for Greater Israel
). He was re-elected on the Likud list in 1977
. On 28 June 1977 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism
, a post he held until 15 January 1979. On 26 January 1981, along with Yigal Hurvitz
and Zalman Shoval
, he briefly left Likud to establish Rafi - National List
and then (by himself) the National List on 19 May, before returning to Likud on 27 May.
After being re-elected later that year
, Peretz and Amnon Linn
defected to the Alignment
on 26 October 1982. He was re-elected on the Alignment list in 1984
, before losing his seat in the 1988 elections
.
Outside his Knesset activities, Peretz became a member of the directorate of the World Sephardi Federation in 1969, before joining its presidium the following year. From 1978 until 1982 he chaired the Zionist Executive Committee, and from 1979 until 1982 was chairman of the Jewish National Fund
's Galilee Development Fund.
He died in 2002 at the age of 66.
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...
between 1974 and 1988.
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...
in 1936, Peretz 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 1950. He attended the Mikveh Yisrael agricultural high school, and later Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
. In 1956 he joined Mapai
Mapai
Mapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968...
. He worked as a teacher in Rishon LeZion between 1957 and 1963. In 1963 he became a member of Dimona
Dimona
Dimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. Its population at the end of 2007 was 33,600.-History:...
city council. Two years later he joined the new Rafi, and following its leader David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
when he broke away to establish the National List
National List
The National List , sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud, Israel's largest right-wing bloc.-Background:The National List had been...
in 1968.
In 1971 he became mayor of Dimona, a post he held until 1974 when he was elected
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...
to the Knesset on the Likud list (an alliance of Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
, the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Israel)
The Israeli Liberal Party was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-History:The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14...
, the Free Centre
Free Centre
The Free Centre was a political party in Israel, and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-Background:The party was created on 29 March 1967 during the sixth Knesset when Shmuel Tamir led a breakaway of three Herut members after a leadership dispute with Menachem Begin...
, the National List and the Movement for Greater Israel
Movement for Greater Israel
The Movement for Greater Israel was a political organisation in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s which subscribed to an ideology of Greater Israel....
). He was re-elected on the Likud 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...
. On 28 June 1977 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism
Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel
The Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour and a position in the Israeli cabinet....
, a post he held until 15 January 1979. On 26 January 1981, along with Yigal Hurvitz
Yigal Hurvitz
Yigal Hurvitz was an Israeli politician who served as a government minister in the late 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:Hurvitz was born in Nahlat Yehuda in 1918. Between 1938 and 1941 he was a member of the secretariat of HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed, and served in the Jewish Brigade during World War II...
and Zalman Shoval
Zalman Shoval
Zalman Shoval is an Israeli politician and diplomat.He was the Israeli ambassador to the United States in the years 1990-1993 and 1998–2000, and an active member of the Knesset in the Rafi party of Ben Gurion, the Statal List, and the Likud party.-Biography:...
, he briefly left Likud to establish Rafi - National List
Ometz (political party)
Ometz , originally Rafi – National List , then the National List was a small right-wing political party in Israel, which existed briefly in 1981, and then from 1983 until 1987...
and then (by himself) the National List on 19 May, before returning to Likud on 27 May.
After being re-elected later that year
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...
, Peretz and Amnon Linn
Amnon Linn
-Biography:Linn was born in Mishmar HaEmek to Hava and David Linn. He became a member of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement in 1940, and in 1942 joined the Palmach, fighting in Haifa. He met his wife, Ruth Hushi, daughter of Abba Hushi in 1945, and married her later that same year...
defected to the Alignment
Alignment (political party)
The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...
on 26 October 1982. He was re-elected on the Alignment list in 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...
, before losing his seat in the 1988 elections
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...
.
Outside his Knesset activities, Peretz became a member of the directorate of the World Sephardi Federation in 1969, before joining its presidium the following year. From 1978 until 1982 he chaired the Zionist Executive Committee, and from 1979 until 1982 was chairman of the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
's Galilee Development Fund.
He died in 2002 at the age of 66.