Benny Shalita (; born 13 November 1934) is an Israeli former 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

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 1981 and 1988, and as mayor of

Menahemia Menahemia () is a village in the Jordan Valley in north-eastern Israel. Located near Highway 90 (Israel–Palestine), Highway 90 between Beit She'an and Tzemah Junction 5 km south of Tzemah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Spring ...

from 1956 until 1992.

Biography

Born in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

during the Mandate era, Shalita attended an External high school, before studying political science at university. In 1956, at the age of 22, he was elected mayor of

local council, becoming the country's youngest-ever council head. He became a member of the board of directors of the Local Government Association, a member of the Galilee Authority, and a member of the board of directors of the

Development town Development towns (, ''Ayarat Pitu'ah'') were new settlements built in Israel during the 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, Holocaust survivors from Europe and other new immig ...

s.Benny Shalita: Public Activities
Knesset He remained mayor of the council until 1992. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, he was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list (then an alliance of the Liberal Party,

Herut Herut () 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. Some of their policies were compared to those of the Nazi party. Early y ...

and other right-wing factions) in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. During his first term he sat on the Economic Affairs Committee, the

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee () is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the ...

and the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee. He was re-elected in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, after which he also joined the State Control Committee, the Education and Culture Committee, the Immigration and Absorption Committee and the Finance Committee. He lost his seat in the 1988 elections.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shalita, Benny 1934 births Politicians from Haifa Jews from Mandatory Palestine Mayors of local councils in Israel Living people Likud politicians Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988)