David Remez ( he, דוד רמז, 1886 – 19 May 1951) was an Israeli politician, the country's first
Minister of Transportation
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
, and a signatory of the
Israeli declaration of independence
The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...
.
Biography
Remez was born David Drabkin in the village of
Kopys
Kopys ( Belarusian and Russian: ''Копысь'', Belarusian and , pl, Kopyś, yi, קאָפּוסט ''Kopust'') is an urban-type settlement in the Orsha Raion, Vitebsk Region, Belarus.
History
The first references to Kopys are dated at 1059. Fr ...
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. ...
(now in
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
) in 1886 and attended high school there. He studied Law in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
before starting work as a teacher. He moved to Ottoman
Palestine in 1913, and worked as an agricultural laborer in
Ben Shemen
Ben Shemen ( he, בֶּן שֶׁמֶן, ''lit.'' very fruitful) is a moshav in central Israel. Located around four kilometres east of Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of .
Etymolog ...
,
Be'er Tuvia
Be'er Tuvia ( he, בְּאֵר טוֹבִיָּה, ''Be'er Toviya'', "Tuvia's Well") is a moshav in the Southern District of Israel. Located near the city of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In it ...
,
Karkur and
Zikhron Ya'akov
Zikhron Ya'akov ( he, זִכְרוֹן יַעֲקֹב, ''lit.'' "Jacob's Memorial"; often shortened to just ''Zikhron'') is a town in Israel, south of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Carmel mounta ...
.
David Remez bio
/ref>
He became involved in politics and trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
ism soon after the Mandate era began, serving as Director of the Public Works Office of the Histadrut
Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...
from 1921 to 1929 as well as on Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
's city council from 1921 to 1925, and was a founding member of 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 nam ...
's Mapai
Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...
party. He became Secretary of the Histadrut in 1930, a position he retained until 1946, and also chaired the Jewish National Council
The Jewish National Council (JNC; he, ועד לאומי, ''Va'ad Le'umi''), also known as the Jewish People's Council was the main national executive organ of the Assembly of Representatives of the Jewish community (Yishuv) within Mandatory Pale ...
from 1944-1949.
Having signed Israel's declaration of independence, Remez was appointed Minister of Transportation in 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 nam ...
's provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
on 14 May 1948, a position he retained after the formation of the first government following the first Knesset elections in 1949. When the first government collapsed in November 1950, Remez became Education Minister taking over from Zalman Shazar
Zalman Shazar ( he, זלמן שז"ר; born Shneur Zalman Rubashov; be, Шнэер За́льман Рубашо́ў; russian: Шне́ер За́лмен Рубашо́в; November 24, 1889 – October 5, 1974) was an Israeli politician, author ...
. He died in office in May 1951, the first Israeli minister to do so. His Knesset seat was taken by Menachem Cohen.
After his death several places in Israel were named after him, among them the Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
neighborhood Ramot Remez and Remez Square in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. His son, Aharon Remez
Aluf Aharon Remez ( he, אהרן רמז, 8 May 1919 – 3 April 1994) was an Israeli civil servant, politician and diplomat, and the second commander of the Israeli Air Force.
Biography
Born in Tel Aviv in 1919, Remez's father David was Israel's ...
was the second commander of 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 ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Remez, David
1886 births
1951 deaths
Belarusian Jews
City councillors of Tel Aviv-Yafo
Educators from the Russian Empire
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire
Farmworkers
General Secretaries of Histadrut
Israeli farmers
Israeli Jews
Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jews in Ottoman Palestine
Jews from the Russian Empire
Mapai politicians
Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine)
Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951)
Ministers of Education of Israel
Ministers of Transport of Israel
People from Goretsky Uyezd
People from Orsha District
Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence
Jewish National Council members