Mordechai Ben-Porat (, ; 12 September 1923 – 3 January 2022) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset in two spells between 1965 until 1984, and as

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

from July 1982 until January 1984. During his four terms in the Knesset, he represented five different parties.

Biography

Born Murad Murad in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in Iraq to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family,Ben Porat, Mordechai (2008). "Mordechai Ben Porat." In Tamar Morad, Dennis Shasha, and Robert Shasha (Eds.) ''Iraq's Last Jews: Stories of Daily Life, Upheaval, and Escape from Modern Babylon'' (pp. 134-150). Based on an oral history interview. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. p. 134. Ben-Porat was the oldest of eleven children of Regina and Nessim Yehezkel Murad; when he reached school age, his father changed the family name to Kazzazz (meaning "silk trader," which was the profession of Ben-Porat's grandfather). Ben-Porat

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 1945. He joined 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 ...

in 1947 and fought in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

. He helped organise the mass immigration of

Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...

between 1949 and 1951, during which he was arrested four times by the Iraqi authorities. He later studied political science at the

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 ...

adjunct of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, and administration 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 ...

. A member of

Mapai Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...

, in 1955 he became head of

Or Yehuda Or Yehuda () is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. Located in the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area, in it had a population of . History Prehistory Human settlement back to the Chalcolithic has been found on the site.David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...

left Mapai to found Rafi, Porat followed him. In 1965 he was elected to 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 ...

on Rafi's list. During the Knesset term the party merged into the Labor Party, which then became part of the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

. He was re-elected on the Alignment list in 1969 and between 1970 and 1972 served as the Labor Party's deputy secretary. He was re-elected again in 1973, but on 15 March 1977 left the party to sit as an independent MK. He subsequently lost his seat in the May 1977 elections. In 1979 he was involved with the Jewish Agency's efforts to help Jews leave

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 1981 he joined the new Telem party, and was elected to the Knesset on its list in the elections that year. In July 1982 he was appointed

. On 6 June 1983, Telem split and Ben-Porat established the Movement for the Renewal of Social Zionism. He remained in the cabinet until 31 January 1984, and lost his seat in the elections that year. He joined

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 ...

in 1988. Ben-Porat died on 3 January 2022, at the age of 98. His daughter, Idit married the Israeli entrepreneur, author, illustrator, and footballer Isaak Hayik. In

Or Yehuda Or Yehuda () is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. Located in the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area, in it had a population of . History Prehistory Human settlement back to the Chalcolithic has been found on the site.Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

Awards

In 2001 Ben-Porat was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for his lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel, in particular for his role in rescuing the Jews of Iraq.Shamir, Eban, Ben-Porat Garner Israel Prize
The Jewish Week, May 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Porat, Mordechai 1923 births 2022 deaths Iraqi Jews Politicians from Baghdad Iraqi emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Haganah members Mayors of places in Israel Government ministers of Israel Israel Prize for lifetime achievement & special contribution to society recipients Rafi (political party) politicians Israeli Labor Party politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Telem (1981 political party) leaders Movement for the Renewal of Social Zionism politicians Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Burials at South Cemetery in Israel Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Members of Aliyah Bet Ministers without Portfolio of Israel

Biography

Awards

See also

References

External links