Yitzhak Rafael ( he, יצחק רפאל, 5 July 1914 – 3 August 1999) was an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician. He served as Deputy Minister of Health in the 1960s and Minister of Religions in the mid-1970s.

Biography

Yitzhak Rafael was born in Sasiv in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

in 1914 at a time when the town was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

), and attended high school in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. During his youth he was a member of the

Torah and Work The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...

youth movement, and founded a local branch of the

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest Religious Zionism, religious Zionist Zionist youth movement, youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established i ...

youth movement. He made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

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 ...

in 1935 and worked as a teacher in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gaining an MA in Humanities. He went on to study at the New York Theological Seminary, where he was awarded a doctorate in literature. Rafael was married to Geula, daughter of Yehuda Leib Maimon, Israel's first Minister of Religious Affairs.Israel Mourns Death of Rabbi Maimon; Thousands Participate in Funeral
/ref>

Political career

He worked for the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

and was director of the department of Craftsman and Small Business. Between 1940 and 1947, he edited a small journal.Yitzhak Rafael: Politician who welcomed immigrants to Israel
The Guardian, 9 August 1999 He was a member of the Hagana and represented

Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home. Histo ...

in the Assembly of Representatives in 1944. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he was a member of the

Jerusalem Emergency Committee The Jerusalem Emergency Committee (Vaadat Hamosadot Le-Inyanai Youshalayim) was a seven-man group set up in December 1947 by the Jewish Agency for Israel to take over the civil administration of Jewish Jerusalem as the British mandate over Palestin ...

. Between 1948 and 1953, he was a member of the Jewish Agency's board, and headed its aliyah department, where he was responsible for the large influx of Jewish refugees (numbering over 685,000 between 1948 and 1951), rejecting calls to put a limit on numbers. In 1951, he was elected to the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

on the Hapoel HaMizrachi list. He was re-elected in 1955, 1959 (by which time Hapoel HaMizrachi had merged into the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

) and 1961. In November 1961 he was appointed Deputy

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

, serving until

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the na ...

resigned as Prime Minister in June 1963. He was re-appointed to the post in July 1963, serving until March 1965. He was re-elected in 1965 and 1969, and following

Haim-Moshe Shapira Haim-Moshe Shapira ( he, חיים משה שפירא, 26 March 1902 – 16 July 1970) was a key Israeli politician in the early days of the state's existence. A signatory of Israel's declaration of independence, he served continuously as a minist ...

's death in July 1970, became the leader of the NRP. He was re-elected again in 1973, and was appointed Minister of Religions by

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...

in March 1974. However, when

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until ...

formed a new government in June 1974 following Meir's resignation, the NRP were not included in the coalition and Rafael left the cabinet. When the party joined the coalition in October that year, Rafael was re-appointed Minister of Religions, serving until all NRP ministers were sacked in December 1976 for abstaining in a motion of no confidence vote. In the same year he lost the party leadership when

Zevulun Hammer Zevulun Hammer ( he, זבולון המר, 31 May 1936 – 20 January 1998) was an Israeli politician, minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Biography Hammer was born in Haifa during the Mandate era. He was an active member of the Bnei Akiva youth ...

and

Yosef Burg Shlomo Yosef Burg ( he, שלמה יוסף בורג, 31 January 1909 – 15 October 1999) was a German-born Israeli politician. In 1949, he was elected to the first Knesset, and served in many ministerial positions for the next 40 years. He was on ...

combined forces to oust him. He lost his seat in the 1977 elections and retired from politics.

Awards and recognition

In 1979, Rafael was the co-recipient (with Yehuda Ratzaby) of the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ...

for Jewish thought.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafael, Yitzhak 1914 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Israeli Jews Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Hapoel HaMizrachi politicians National Religious Party politicians Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Ministers of Religious affairs of Israel Deputy ministers of Israel

Biography

Political career

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links