Ephraim Sneh (, born 19 September 1944) is an Israeli politician, physician, and a retired brigadier 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 ...

. He was 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 the Labor Party between 1992 and 2008 and served in several ministerial posts. He headed the Yisrael Hazaka party, which he established in May 2008 but failed to pass the electoral threshold in the

2009 Israeli legislative election 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bo ...

and has been inactive since then.

Life and career

Born 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 ...

in 1944, Sneh is the son of

Moshe Sneh Moshe Sneh (; 6 January 1909 – 1 March 1972) was a Haganah commander and an Israeli politician. One of the founders of Mapam, he later joined the Israeli Communist Party (Maki). Biography Mosze Klaynboym (later Sneh) attended high scho ...

, who was one of the heads 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 ...

. His father was elected to the first Knesset as a representative of

Mapam File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans rect 721 86 995 243 ...

, before defecting to Maki, the Israeli Communist Party. Sneh served in the

Nahal Nahal () (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepr ...

infantry battalion from 1962 to 1964. He studied medicine at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

and specialized in internal medicine. Once he finished his studies he returned to military service as a battalion doctor, then as a brigade doctor for the Paratroopers Brigade. In the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, he commanded a medical unit of the brigade in the Battle of The Chinese Farm and battles west of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. Sneh also commanded the medical unit at

Operation Entebbe The Entebbe raid, also known as the Operation Entebbe and officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt (also retroactively codenamed Operation Yonatan), was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to th ...

, and Yonatan Netanyahu died in his arms. Afterwards, he served as commander of the elite Unit 669 and as commander of the security zone in south Lebanon. His last role in the IDF was as head of the civilian administration of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In December 1987, with his release from the army, he joined the Labor Party. From 1988 to 1994 he served on many delegations, specifically dealing with the Palestinian leadership. In 1992, Sneh was elected to the Knesset, serving as Minister of Health from 1994 to 1996. In 1999, he was appointed deputy minister of defense, and in 2001 he was appointed Minister of Transportation. Sneh ran for the interim leadership of the Labor Party in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, winning 28% of the vote. Sneh stood out in his objection to the withdrawal from southern Lebanon, though he eventually accepted it following Prime Minister

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

's decision. Generally, Sneh is considered a "hawk" in the Labor Party. He has repeatedly expressed concern over

Iran's Nuclear Program The Nuclear technology, nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass Enriched uranium, enrichment activities in facilities such a ...

, In 2006, Iran filed a complaint to the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

over his remarks that Israel must be ready to prevent Iran's nuclear program "at all costs." In the negotiations leading to the formation of the 31st Government under Prime Minister

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; , ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009. The son of a former Herut politician, Olmert was first elected to the Knesset for Likud in 1973, at th ...

, there was extensive speculation that Sneh would be appointed Deputy Minister of Defense. Although not initially appointed to a position in the government, Sneh was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense on 30 October 2006. He served under Defense Minister

Amir Peretz Amir Peretz (; born 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Ministry of Defense (Israel), ...

, who also was the Labor Party leader. The replacement of Peretz by Barak as both party leader and Defense Minister in the summer of 2007 also led to a change in the deputy position; Sneh left office on 18 June 2007 and was replaced by Matan Vilnai. On 25 May 2008, Sneh announced that he would be leaving the Labor Party and creating a new party, Yisrael Hazaka. He left the Knesset on 28 May and was replaced by Shakhiv Shana'an. In 2014, in an interview with ''

Al-Monitor ''Al-Monitor'' is a news website launched in 2012 by the Arab-American entrepreneur Jamal Daniel. Based in Washington, D.C., ''Al-Monitor'' provides reporting and analysis from and about the Middle East. ''Al-Monitor'' is the recipient of the I ...

'', Sneh said the Israeli public has been "brainwashed" in recent years into believing there is no Palestinian peace partner by what he described as "well-oiled propaganda system of the Israeli regime" which he characterized as "anti-Palestinian" and "Goebbelsian". He lives in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

, and is married with two children.

References

External links

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Official website
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Leon Charney interviews Efraim Sneh and Fredy Zach on The Leon Charney ReportHead to Head: Yossi Beilin and Ephraim Sneh on the Iranian nuclear threat - Fathom Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneh, Efraim 1944 births Living people Deputy ministers of Israel Israeli generals Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli military doctors Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Ministers of health of Israel Ministers of transport of Israel Operation Entebbe Politicians from Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University alumni Yisrael Hazaka politicians One Israel politicians