Meir Nitzan (; born 1931) is 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 ...
. He was mayor of
Rishon Lezion for five consecutive terms.
Biography
Meir Nitzan was born in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. He lived in a displaced persons' camp in Cyprus before making
Aliyah at age 16. Upon his arrival in Israel, he lived in the then-
transit camp Pardes Hanna
Pardes Hanna-Karkur ( he, פַּרְדֵּס חַנָּה-כַּרְכּוּר) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. In it had a population of .
History
An Arab village named Karkur had stood at this location by the time the Palestine E ...
. In the
Israel Defense Forces, Nitzan served in the
Ordnance Corps and reached the rank of
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
. He retired in 1979, but returned upon a promotion to
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
as the deputy head of the
Technological and Logistics Directorate
The Israeli Technological and Logistics Directorate (acronym: Atal) is a directorate in the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, responsible for its logistics responses and tasks, and in particular: the building of military bases, maintaini ...
.
Political career
Nitzan became mayor of Rishon LeZion in 1983 and was re-elected four times. In November 2008, he lost the municipal elections to
Dov Zur. After his defeat, Nitzan announced that he would run in the
Kadima
Kadima ( he, קדימה, lit=''Forward'') was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement pl ...
party primaries and vie for a seat in 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
2009 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2009.
* Electoral calendar 2009
* 2009 United Nations Security Council election
Caribbean
* 2009 Antiguan general election
* 2009 Aruban general election
* 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...
. However, he later left the party to support
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 ...
as he was unhappy with the behaviour of party leader
Tzipi Livni
Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former for ...
. Kadima claimed Nitzan quit because the party refused to cover his campaign debts.
Nitzan served as acting mayor of
Lod in 2011–2013. During his tenure, the crime rate dropped, the municipality organized a , a traditional Arab conciliatory meeting between two feuding families, and the budget was balanced.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitzan, Meir
1931 births
Living people
Israeli generals
Kadima politicians
Likud politicians
Mayors of places in Israel
People from Lod
Mayors of Rishon LeZion
Romanian emigrants to Israel
Romanian Jews
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni