Ben-Zion Keshet (, born 1914, died 8 August 1984) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of 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 ...

for

Gahal Gahal ( he, גח"ל, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until ...

and

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sha ...

between 1969 and 1977.

Biography

Born in Riga in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(today in Latvia), Keshet attended a Hebrew high school in his home city. He joined the Betar youth movement and helped establish the Estonian branch in 1932. In 1934 he made aliyah to

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 ...

, where he became a member of the governing council of Betar in 1935. He also became a member of Betar's enlistment battalion and of the central committee of the National Labour Federation in Eretz-Israel, on which he served between 1939 and 1942. From 1942 until 1943 he was a member of the general staff of the

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

, before being exiled to Eritrea in 1944.Ben-Zion Keshet: Public Activities
Knesset website He returned to Israel in 1948 and was amongst the founding members of

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') 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. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

, chairing its municipal department. He was a member of the Public Council for Soviet Jewry and was on the Controller Committee of Housing Ministry. In

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the Gahal list (an alliance of Herut and 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

) and became a Deputy

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. He was re-elected in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, by which time Gahal had merged into

, but lost his seat in the 1977 elections. Between 1982 and 1984 he was chairman of the board of directors at the Jabotinsky Institute, before dying in August 1984.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keshet, Ben-Zion 1914 births 1984 deaths Latvian Jews Latvian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Betar members Irgun members Gahal politicians Herut politicians Likud politicians Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Deputy Speakers of the Knesset