Yitzhak "Ijo" Rager (; 1932–1997) was an Israeli journalist, diplomat, and a

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 ...

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

. Rager was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, though immediately after his birth, his family moved to

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

and settled in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In his IDF service he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel and took part in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. Rager had two children: Eviatar Rager (born 1959) and Avishag Rager (born 1970), both of whom reside in Israel. After his discharge he worked in the

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

; among his posts were as European correspondent for

Kol Israel ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' (, lit. "Voice of Israel"; also Israel Radio) was Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, and later the Israel B ...

, the Israeli national radio service, editor of the periodical '' HaYom'' and director-general of the

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...

. During that period, he was affiliated with 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 ...

, a centrist political party, and particularly aligned with Yitzhak Rokeach. On behalf of Israel's Foreign Service, Rager was posted to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

as a consul, where he focused on the international efforts to open the gates of emigration from the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for Soviet Jewry. Afterwards he was made world president of the

State of Israel Bonds State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. As a business entrepreneur, Rager was among the founders of ''Kanyon HaNegev'' (lit. ''Negev Mall''), the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

's largest commercial center and one of the group established by Canadian developer David Azrieli. Its success was the source of some conflict in Beersheba. Proponents touted the Kanyon's successful businesses and how the modernized facility offered local residents amenities comparable to the Westernized center of the country and abroad, purportedly raising their standard of living. However, the competition badly harmed the businesses of Beersheba's Old City, which have yet to recover. Yitzhak Rager, running as the Likud party's candidate, was elected to the mayoralty in 1989. He was re-elected and served a total of eight years until his death. Through his efforts, in 1992 Beersheba was designated a prime development area, resulting in major strides in its advancement and the absorption of tens of thousands of new immigrants. In his memory, a principal thoroughfare in Beersheba was renamed Yitzhak Rager Boulevard. It connects Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the

Soroka Medical Center Soroka University Medical Center (, ''HaMerkaz HaRefu'i Soroka''), a part of the Clalit Health Services Group, is the general hospital of Beersheba, Israel, it serves as the central hospital of the region and provides medical services to approx ...

, the Beersheba municipality, and the Negev Mall.

External links

Death notice, incl. bio sketch, in the New York Times (June 15, 1997)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rager, Yitzhak Mayors of Beersheba 1932 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Egyptian Jews Egyptian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine General Zionists politicians Likud politicians 20th-century Israeli journalists