Eliyahu Sasson ( he, אליהו ששון, 2 February 1902 – 8 October 1978) was an Israeli politician and minister.

Biography

Eliyahu Sasson was born in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

in Ottoman Syria. He studied at an Alliance School in his hometown and the

Université Saint-Joseph Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. He became a member of the Arab National Movement,Eliyahu Sasson: Public Activities
Knesset website and edited a Jewish-Arab newspaper named ''al-Hayat''. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Palestine in 1927 and worked as an electrician, journalist and lecturer on Middle East affairs.

Diplomatic career

He began working in the political department of the

Jewish Agency for Israel 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. ...

, serving as head of the Arab department between 1933 and 1948. A member of the Jewish delegation to the United Nations between 1947 and 1948 and at the ceasefire negotiations in 1949, he worked as director of the Middle East department of the

Foreign Affairs Ministry A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

between 1948 and 1950, before heading an office in Paris for contacts with Arab nations. He is reported by

Benny Morris Benny Morris ( he, בני מוריס; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. He is a member of t ...

to have been a member in 1948 of one of the government's unofficial Transfer Committees, set up to facilitate the removal of Arabs from their towns and villages. He also served as the Israeli envoy to Turkey (1950–1952), an envoy and ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(1953–1960) and ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(1960–1961).

Political career

In 1961, he returned to Israel and was appointed Minister of Postal Services by

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 name ...

. 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 ...

in the 1965 elections, and retained his cabinet post until 2 January 1967, when he became Minister of Police. Although he was re-elected in 1969, he lost his ministerial post upon the formation of the new government. He lost his seat in the 1973 elections.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sasson, Eliyahu 1902 births 1978 deaths Alignment (Israel) politicians Ambassadors of Israel to Italy Ambassadors of Israel to Switzerland Jews in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Ministers of Communications of Israel Ministers of Public Security of Israel People from Damascus People of the Jewish Agency for Israel Sephardi Jews in Ottoman Palestine Sephardi Jews in Ottoman Syria Syrian Jews