Moshe Shahal (; born 20 May 1934) is an Israeli former politician.

Biography

Born 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, Shahal

emigrated to Israel ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...

in 1950. He studied economics and political science at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

, before graduating with a law degree from

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 ...

. He began his political career when elected to the

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 ...

Labor Council in 1964, a position he retained until 1971. Between 1964 and 1969, he was also a member of Haifa City Council. For the 1969 Knesset elections he was placed 57th on the Alignment's list, but missed out when the alliance won only 56 seats. Nevertheless, Shahal entered the Knesset on 1 September 1971 as a replacement for the deceased Mordechai Ofer. He was re-elected in 1974, 1977, 1981, and between 1981 and 1984, served as a Deputy

Speaker of the Knesset The speaker of the Knesset (, ) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel when the President is incapacitated. The current speaker is Amir Ohana, who ...

. After a fourth re-election in 1984, he was appointed Minister of Energy & Infrastructure. He was re-appointed to the post following the 1988 elections, serving until the Alignment pulled out of the coalition government in 1990. Following Labor's victory in the 1992 elections, Shahal was appointed to two posts in the cabinet; Minister of Communications and Minister of Police. He held the Communications portfolio until 7 June 1993, when he was replaced by

Shulamit Aloni Shulamit Aloni (; 27 December 1927 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz (political party), Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, ...

. However, he regained the Energy and Construction post at the same time, though he gave it up in January 1995, when

Gonen Segev Gonen Segev (; born 6 January 1956) is a former Minister of Energy & Infrastructure of Israel, member of Knesset, and pediatrician. In 2005 he was convicted of forgery, credit card fraud and attempting to smuggle drugs. In 2019 he was convicted ...

(a new addition to

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

's government) replaced him. Shahal retained the Police Ministry following

Rabin's assassination Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister of Israel, was assassinated on 4 November 1995 at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv. The assailant was Yigal Amir, an Israeli law student and u ...

, when it was renamed the Ministry of Public Security. Although he retained his seat in the 1996 elections and Labor remained the largest party,

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

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 ...

formed the government, and Shahal lost his place in the cabinet. He resigned from the Knesset on 20 March 1998 and was replaced by

Rafik Haj Yahia Rafik Haj Yahia (, ; 3 September 1949 – 16 April 2000) was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party and One Nation between March 1998 and June 1999. Biography Born in Tayibe, Haj Yahia gained ...

. Whilst serving as an MK, Shahal was a permanent observer to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

(1974–76) and a permanent representative to the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

(1976–84). Outside the Knesset, he also served as a chairman of the Israel Consumer's Council. In the 2022 Knesset elections he was given the honorary last spot on the Labor list.

External links

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Moshe Shahal
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahal, Moshe 1934 births Living people Alignment (Israel) politicians City councillors of Haifa Deputy speakers of the Knesset Iraqi emigrants to Israel Iraqi Jews in Israel Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Ministers of communications of Israel Ministers of public security of Israel Politicians from Baghdad Tel Aviv University alumni University of Haifa alumni 20th-century Iraqi Jews 21st-century Iraqi Jews