Matityahu Drobles (; 20 April 1931 – 21 October 2018) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for

Gahal Gahal (, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until the establi ...

and

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

between 1972 and 1977.

Biography

Drobles was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He was interned in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

and later lived in the woods during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1946 he moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, where he attended high school. In Argentina he joined the

Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...

youth movement, becoming a member of its national leadership, and director of training. He was also a member of the Council for Zionist Youth Movements in Argentina, before emigrating to Israel in 1950. He was amongst the founders of moshav Mevo Beitar, and a member of the Mishkei Herut Beitar settlement movement, serving as its representative to immigrant settlements around Jerusalem and the West Bank. Between 1962 and 1973 he was deputy chairman of

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Mateh Yehuda Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ) is a Regional council (Israel), regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2024 it was home to 51,125 people. The name of the regional council stems from the fact t ...

. In 1967 he became chairman of Mishkei Herut Beitar's settlement department, and was responsible for establishing

Israeli settlements Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

around

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

and the Jordan Valley between 1974 and 1977.

Political and public career

Drobles was on the

list for the 1969 Knesset elections. Although he failed to win a seat, he entered the Knesset on 26 February 1972 as a replacement for the deceased Yosef Sapir. He was re-elected in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, but lost his seat in the 1977 elections. In 1978 he became a member of the board of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

and

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

, serving as chairman of the WZO's settlement department from 1978 until 1992. In 1992 he became head of the Central Zionist Archives.

Awards and recognition

In 2011 Drobles was chosen to light one of the torches in the state ceremony marking Israel's 63rd anniversary.Israel celebrates 63rd Independence Day
Ynetnews, 9 May 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drobles, Matityahu 1931 births Warsaw Ghetto inmates Betar members Polish emigrants to Argentina Argentine emigrants to Israel Jewish Israeli politicians Jewish Argentine politicians Likud politicians Gahal politicians Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) 2018 deaths