Shmuel Rechtman (; 1924 – 23 July 1988) was an Israeli politician who served as mayor of

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

from 1970 until 1979, and 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 1977 and 1979.

Biography

Born in

during the Mandate era, Rechtman worked as the administrative director of the Kfar Silver agricultural high school. He joined the

General Zionists The General Zionists () were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann and their views were largely colored by central European culture. The party was considered ...

in 1949 and was one of the heads of the Liberal Workers Union. After the General Zionists merged into 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 ...

in 1961, Rechtman became chairman of the party's national council. He was elected to the Rehovot city council in 1965, and in 1970 he became mayor. In 1976 he became a member of the Likud directorate (the party was 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 parties), and was also chairman of the Likud bloc in the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

trade union. He was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. However, early in the Knesset session he was charged with taking bribes from a building contractor.American Jewish Yearbook 1980
p270 Following a vote held by Rechtman's consent, his parliamentary immunity was withdrawn. In January 1978 he was found guilty and sentenced to three and a half years in prison. He appealed to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, and continued in the Knesset until his appeal was dismissed. He resigned his seat on 18 June 1979, and was replaced by

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

.Knesset Members of the Ninth Knesset
Knesset website He also stepped down as mayor of Rehovot and left the Likud directorate. He was later imprisoned, becoming the first member of the Knesset to be jailed.Shmuel Rechtman: Public activities
Knesset website Rechtman died on 23 July 1988.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rechtman, Shmuel 1924 births 1988 deaths General Zionists politicians Israeli government officials convicted of crimes Israeli people convicted of bribery Israeli politicians convicted of corruption Israeli prisoners and detainees Israeli trade unionists Jews from Mandatory Palestine Jewish Israeli politicians Liberal Party (Israel) politicians Likud politicians Mayors of places in Israel Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) People from Rehovot Prisoners and detainees of Israel Israeli politicians convicted of crimes

Biography

See also

References

External links