Yaakov Turner ( he, יעקב טרנר, born 27 February 1935) was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

. Prior to his election as mayor, he was an

Israel Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

pilot and Israel's Chief of Police. Turner was the founder and head of the

Israeli Air Force Museum The Israeli Air Force Museum is located at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert. The museum was established in 1977 and has been open to the public since 1991. The museum displays a variety of Israeli Air Force and foreign aircraft, as well as ...

Biography

Yaakov Turner was born in

Kfar Yona Kfar Yona ( he, כְּפַר יוֹנָה, lit=Yona's Village) is a city in the Sharon subdistrict in the Central District of Israel. It is about 7 km east of Netanya. With a jurisdiction of 11,017 dunams (~11 km²). in it had a popula ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

, to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents from Hungary and Poland. He graduated from

Ben Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

with a major in behavioral sciences.

Military and police career

Turner enlisted in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

in 1953 and retired in 1985 as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

. 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 an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Eg ...

he was an

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...

pilot, and in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

and the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

, he was the commander of an air combat squadron. In 1985 he founded the

Hatzerim airbase Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חֲצֵרִים, ''Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim'') is an air base of the Israeli Air Force in the Negev Desert on the west outskirts of Beersheba, near Kibbutz H ...

near Beersheba. After his military service, he joined the

Israel Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

, where he became general commissioner (commander of the police) in 1990, a position he held until 1993. Turner served as president of the Israeli branch of the

International Police Association The International Police Association (IPA) is a Non-Governmental Organization for members of the police force, whether in employment or retired. By 2021, there were more than 360,000 members in nearly 100 countries, of which 65 are affiliated ...

Mayor

In 1998, Turner was elected mayor of Beersheba. He was elected on a local list, but with the support of the Israeli Labor Party. He was re-elected in 2003, but lost the elections in 2008 to his former deputy mayor,

Ruvik Danilovich Reuven "Ruvik" Danilovich ( he, רוביק דנילוביץ', born January 24, 1971) is an Israeli politician. In 2008, he was elected mayor of Be'er Sheva Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''B� ...

. Turner won 30 percent of the vote versus 60 percent for Danilovich. The Yaakov Turner Sports Complex, named for him, includes the 16,000-seat

Turner Stadium The Turner Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טרנר), officially the Yaakov Turner Toto Stadium Be'er Sheva, is a football stadium in Be'er Sheva, Israel. It is the home ground of Hapoel Be'er Sheva. It was named after former Be'er Sheva mayor Yaak ...

, multifunctional sport hall and practice fields.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Yaakov 1935 births Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni Israeli Air Force personnel Israeli aviators Israeli generals Israeli Jews Israeli police chiefs Living people Mayors of Beersheba Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Directors of museums in Israel