Avraham Shekhterman (; 3 December 1910 – 7 December 1986) 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 1969 and 1977. He was the older brother of Herzl Shafir, a general in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

Biography

Born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(today in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), Shekhterman

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1924. He attended high school in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and in 1927 he joined

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 ...

, later becoming one of its commanders. He studied civil engineering at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, where he chaired the Jewish Students Organisation, as well as working as a Betar instructor in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. He helped establish

Kfar Yavetz Kfar Yavetz () is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near the Arab city of Tayibe, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lev HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was founded o ...

in 1932. In 1936 he joined the Betar faction of the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

, later becoming an

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

member after it broke away from the Haganah. In 1938 he became political editor of the '' HaMashkif'' newspaper, the publication of the

Revisionist Party Hatzohar (), full name Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim (), was a Revisionist Zionist organization and political party in Mandatory Palestine and newly independent Israel. History Hatzohar was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky and others in Paris in Apr ...

. Between 1943 and 1946 he managed the Potash Company at the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. Shekhterman was involved in promoting aviation in Palestine. In preparation for establishing a Jewish air force, he used his contacts to convince the British Mandate's Department of Civilian Aviation to approve a flight school at an airfield in

Lod Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

. Between 1939 and 1945 he chaired the Tel Aviv Pilots Club. Shekhterman served as a member of the Assembly of Representatives. In 1955 he was elected to Tel Aviv city council, remaining a member until 1965 and serving as deputy mayor between 1957 and 1959. In

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the Gahal list. 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 ...

, by which time Gahal had merged into Likud, but lost his seat in the

1977 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

.Abraham Shechterman: Public Activities
Knesset

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shekhterman, Avraham 1910 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Israeli journalists Betar members Gahal politicians Ghent University alumni Haganah members Irgun members Israeli aviators Israeli chief executives Likud politicians Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Odesa Jews Ukrainian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Ukrainian Zionists