Haim Haberfeld (6 September 1931 – 29 January 2002) was an Israeli trade union leader and the chairman of the

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variet ...

Early life and education

Chaim Haberfeld was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. His family immigrated to Israel in the

Fifth Aliyah The Fifth Aliyah ( he, העלייה החמישית, ''HaAliyah HaHamishit'') refers to the fifth wave of the Jewish immigration to Palestine from Europe and Asia between the years 1929 and 1939, with the arrival of 225,000 to 300,000 Jews. The Fi ...

. He arrived in

Rishon Le Zion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan a ...

at the age of two. Haberfeld studied at the

Ben Shemen Youth Village Ben Shemen Youth Village ( he, כפר הנוער בן שמן, ''Kfar HaNo'ar Ben Shemen'') is a youth village and agricultural boarding school in central Israel. Located near Ben Shemen and Ginaton, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi ...

and served in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

in the

Artillery Corps Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications dur ...

Union leader

After his discharge, Haberfeld became a civilian IDF employee in

Tzrifin Tzrifin ( he, צְרִיפִין) is an area in Gush Dan (Dan Region) in central Israel, located on the eastern side of Rishon LeZion and including parts of Be'er Ya'akov. The area proper is defined as an 'area without jurisdiction' between the two ...

. Here he met his future wife, Sima Eisen, and began his activities as a labor union activist in the IDF Worker Union, affiliated with 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 ...

. He advanced in the Histadrut hierarchy and eventually led the Histadrut Trade Union Division. In 1992, when Yisrael Kessar was appointed Minister of Transportation, he replaced him as the Histadrut Secretary General, winning internal elections in the

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party ( he, מִפְלֶגֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית, ), commonly known as HaAvoda ( he, הָעֲבוֹדָה, , The Labor), is a social democratic and Zionist political party in Israel. The pa ...

against

Amir Peretz Amir Peretz ( he, עָמִיר פֶּרֶץ; born on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Minister of Defen ...

. During Haberfeld's leadership, the financial situation of the Histadrut and Kupat Holim Clalit was on the brink of bankruptcy, after it accumulated huge deficits. The proportion of those paying the uniform tax to the Histadrut had decreased. The position of the Histadrut in public opinion was at a low ebb. In 1994,

Haim Ramon Haim Ramon ( he, חיים רמון, born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for st ...

decided to compete against Haberfeld for the post of Secretary General of the Histadrut, with the aim of carrying out a comprehensive reform of the Histadrut. Despite the support of the Labor Party for Haberfeld, Ramon's party "A new life in the Histadrut" won the election. One of the reasons for Haberfeld's failure was the perception that Haberfeld was a gray party apparatus person, in contrast to Ramon, who was considered a rising star in politics. Supporters of Haberfeld were impressed by his modest lifestyle, however, when Haberfeld and Kessar's finance person, Artur Yisraelovitch, was convicted of various offenses, Judge Zecharia Caspi emphasized in his decision that the Histadrut at the time was "corrupt and corrupting".

Football, death, and legacy

Haberfeld served as the chairman of the

Israeli Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variet ...

from 1980 to 1985 and again from 1992 to 1993. Haberfeld died in 2002. The home field of Hapoel Rishon LeZion (built 1993) was renamed the

Haberfeld Stadium Haberfeld Stadium ( he, אצטדיון הברפלד, ''Itztadion Haberfeld''; also known as the ''Superland Stadium'') is a multi-purpose stadium in Rishon LeZion, Israel. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of ...

in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haberfeld, Haim 1931 births 2002 deaths Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli trade unionists Chairmen of the Israel Football Association General Secretaries of Histadrut People from Rishon LeZion Czechoslovak emigrants to Mandatory Palestine