Shabtai Shikhman (; 10 September 1915 – 9 January 1987) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

and

Gahal Gahal ( he, גח"ל, 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 ...

between 1959 and 1965.

Biography

Born in an area that became

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, Shikhman joined the Betar youth movement, and was commander of the branch in his home town. He joined the local branch of

Hatzohar Hatzohar (, an acronym for ''HaTzionim HaRevizionistim'' (), lit. ''The Revisionist Zionists''), officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim (, lit. ''Union of Revisionist Zionists'') was a Revisionist Zionist organization and political party in Ma ...

, and served as the local branch's deputy chairman. In 1935 he made aliyah to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

, where he served as secretary of HaOved HaLeumi until 1941. In 1949 he founded the Sela housing company and worked as its general manager. In

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the Herut list. He was re-elected in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, but lost his seat in the 1965 elections, shortly before which Herut had formed the Gahal alliance. He died in 1987 at the age of 71.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shikhman, Shabtai 1915 births 1987 deaths Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine 20th-century Israeli businesspeople Betar members Hatzohar politicians Herut politicians Gahal politicians Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965)