Shalom Simhon (; born 7 December 1956) is an Israeli politician and former 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

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

and the Labor Party. He previously served as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour and Minister of Minorities in the

Israeli cabinet The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...

Biography

Born in

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

, after completing his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, Simhon studied for a BA in social work, and became a social worker. He lives in

Even Menachem Even Menachem () is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Western Galilee, about six kilometers northwest of Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The mosha ...

, a

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

in the

western Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

, and was secretary general of the

Moshavim Movement The Moshavim Movement (, ''Tnu'at HaMoshavim'') is one of the main Settlement movement (Israel), settlement movements in Israel, whose members are cooperative villages organized as moshavim and moshav shitufi, moshavim shitufiim. History Founded i ...

. He has also chaired the Social Department of the Moshavim Movement, the Youth Department of the Moshavim Movement (for which he was also secretary) and was secretary general of

HaMerkaz HaHakla'i HaMerkaz HaHakla'i (), also referred to simply as Merkaz Hakla'i, is an umbrella organization covering the economic and social functioning of a large part of the agricultural settlements in Israel. It is the executive of the , which was establishe ...

. Simhon was first elected to the Knesset in the 1996 elections. He retained his seat in the 1999 elections, and was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

as well as serving as chairman of the Finance Committee. He served in the cabinet again during the 16th Knesset after Labour joined the government, this time as

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of a ...

. In 2006 there was an investigation into whether he had received personal favours from an airline company, though he denied the claim. After retaining his seat in the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential e ...

he was reappointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. He retained his seat again in the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum ...

, having been placed twelfth on the Labor list. In January 2011 he was one of five members to leave Labor to establish

, and was appointed Industry, Trade and Labour Minister, replacing

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Binyamin "Fuad" Ben-Eliezer (, ; 12 February 1936 – 28 August 2016) was an Iraqi-born Israeli politician and general. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1984 and 2014, and held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Indust ...

. On 18 January he was also appointed Minister of Minorities. During his tenure as the Trade and Labor Minister, the ministry passed a law requiring retailers to clearly display food items whose price is regulated by the government. The ministry, following the initiative of

Eitan Cabel Eitan Cabel (; born 23 August 1959) is an Israeli politician who represented the Israeli Labor Party in the Knesset from 1996 to 2019. Biography Eitan Cabel was born in Rosh HaAyin. After serving in the Israeli Defense Force, he studied at the ...

, also made it easier for consumers to return items they purchased and get their money back. He lost his Knesset seat in 2013 after Independence chose not to contest the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simhon, Shalom 1956 births Living people Independence (Israeli political party) politicians Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli social workers Moshavim movement secretaries One Israel politicians People from Kfar Saba University of Haifa alumni 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) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Ministers of agriculture of Israel Ministers of environment of Israel