Yosef Yitzhak Paritzky (; 14 September 1955 – 5 October 2021) was an Israeli attorney, politician and columnist.

Background

Born and raised in the Beit HaKerem neighbourhood of

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 ...

, he attended high school in the Hebrew University Secondary School. Later Paritzky studied law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, where he gained an LL.B., and went on to work as an attorney. He was an attorney both in Israel and in New York. Paritzky was known as a secular liberal who advocated for the separation of state and religion in Israel. He formed the association ''Am Hofshi'' (''Free People'') and was its chairman. Due to his activities he was offered a seat on the

Shinui Shinui () was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market Liberalism worldwide, liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collaps ...

list prior to 1999 elections. After winning a

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 ...

seat in the elections, Paritzky served as a member of the finance committee. He was re-elected in 2003 and was appointed Minister of National Infrastructure and Energy 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 ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. Paritzky established the natural gas system in Israel and also led dramatic changes in the electricity and water fields. He was the first to suggest an "Infrastructure Undersea Tunnel" between Turkey and Israel and gave licenses to the first private power stations in Israel. However, Paritzky had to leave his position in the Government in July 2004, due to the demand of Tommy Lapid, head of Shinui, with whom Paritzky had a long and bitter dispute. Tapes of Paritzky were published in which he was heard apparently attempting to catch Avraham Poraz, the party's deputy leader, in wrongdoings. Paritzky's actions were investigated by the police, but charges were not brought since the police and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

found no evidence of any criminal acts. Shinui, led by Lapid and Poraz, attempted to have Paritzky expelled from the Knesset and replace him with another Shinui MK. However, the Knesset House Committee refused this attempt and allowed him to retain his seat. Paritzky then announced that he was forming his own party, Tzalash, and would run in the 2006 elections, saying his goal was for Shinui "not to attain the minimum number of votes needed to get into the Knesset". Although it was possible for the faction to receive 600,000 shekels in electoral funding, Tzalash did not participate in the 2006 elections. Despite Tzalash's demise, two of Paritzky's goals were realised; Poraz was defeated in Shinui's primary elections in January 2006, with Paritzky saying Poraz and party leader Lapid "should have been sent home long ago". In addition, in the elections, Poraz's new party, Hetz, and Shinui both failed to win any seats. He was married and had three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paritzky, Yosef 1955 births 2021 deaths Politicians from Jerusalem Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni Israeli lawyers Shinui politicians Tzalash politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Burials at Menucha Nechona Cemetery