Haim Corfu ( he, חיים קורפו‎; 6 January 1921 – 23 February 2015) was an Israeli

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and earlier

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 ...

member and assassin.

Biography

Corfu was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1921. He studied in religious schools and

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

s and attended a religious teachers seminary. In 1937 he joined the

and was a member of the Irgun command in Jerusalem. During that time he also played as a striker for

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

. He used his training as an electrician to design explosives. He was responsible for the assassinations of CID officers

Ralph Cairns Ralph Cairns (23 October 1907 – 26 August 1939) was a British police officer who was commander of the Jewish Section of the Palestine Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) until his assassination by Irgun alongside Ronald Barker. Cai ...

and Ronald Barker. Corfu, observing the two while hiding behind a stonemason's shack, pressed the detonator of the remotely-controlled mine that killed them. He was in charge of mining the income tax offices on 26 February 1944. He was subsequently interned in Sudan and Kenya by the British, where he also put his skills as an electrician to use in an attempt to escape. After the establishment of the State of Israel he studied law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and was certified as a lawyer. From 1967 to 1969 he was a member of the Jerusalem city council. In 1969, he was elected to the seventh

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 was subsequently elected to the eighth through twelfth Knessets for

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 Sharon ...

. In the seventh and eighth Knessets he was a member of the finance committee and in the eighth he was also a member of the subcommittee for the defense budget. In the ninth and twelfth Knessets he was a member of the

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( he, ועדת חוץ וביטחון) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over rel ...

and in the twelfth he was the chairman of the house committee. Between 1981 and 1988 he served as transportation minister, supporting the consolidation of

Israel Railways Israel Railways Ltd. , dba Israel Railways ( he, רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Rakevet Yisra'el''), is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Isr ...

with the Ports Authority. In 1986, he was invited to attend a transportation convention in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and thus became the first Israeli cabinet member to be asked to attend a conference in an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

country other than

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. In 1987, he voted for a bill to grant a blanket amnesty to the

Jewish Underground The Jewish Underground ( he, המחתרת היהודית ''HaMakhteret HaYehudit''), or in abbreviated form, simply ''makhteret'',David S. New''Holy War: The Rise of Militant Christian, Jewish and Islamic Fundamentalism,''McFarland, 2001, p. 143. w ...

prisoners. In April 1992 he resigned from the Knesset to become chairman of the

Israeli Airports Authority , native_name_lang = , romanized_name = , former_name = , ISIN = , industry = , fate = , predecessor = , successor = , founded = in Tel Aviv, Israel , founder = , defunct = , hq_location = Ben Gurion International Airport , ...

, a position he held until 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corfu, Haim 1921 births 2015 deaths Place of death missing 20th-century Israeli lawyers Association football forwards Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players Gahal politicians Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni Irgun members Israeli electricians Israeli footballers Israeli Jews Jewish Israeli politicians Likud politicians Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Ministers of Transport of Israel Politicians from Jerusalem Lawyers from Jerusalem