Mordechai Schattner ( he, מרדכי שטנר, 1904 – 16 April 1964) was a Zionist activist 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
A member of
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
from England.
After returning to Mandate Palestine, he joined the Jewish National Council, working on national infrastructure. He campaigned against the treatment of Jewish prisoners held by the British, and was arrested during the Operation Agatha and imprisoned in the Atlit detainee camp, Rafah and Latrun. During that time he served as the representative of the Jewish detainees to the British authorities.
On 14 May 1948, Shatner was one of the people to sign the Israeli declaration of independence, and joined the
Provisional State Council
The Provisional State Council ( he, מועצת המדינה הזמנית, ''Moetzet HaMedina HaZmanit'') was the temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset in January 1949. It took the ...
. After independence he worked on the development of Jerusalem, was one of the founders of Yad Vashem, and was also a member of the committee that appointed judges to the
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.
The Supreme C ...
.
Shatner served as the CEO of the Department of Industry and Commerce, and was in charge of the financial market. He was also an interim supervisor of the real estate of the Arabs who fled Israel during the Independence War of 1948. He was the main figure in the foundation of the Israeli town of Nazareth Illit and the Wingate Sports Center that was named after his friend
Orde Wingate
Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second World ...
.
The Shatner Centre in Jerusalem was named after him. His son, David, is an expert on water and the "
borders of Israel
The modern borders of Israel exist as the result both of past wars and of diplomatic agreements between the State of Israel and its neighbours as well as colonial powers. Only two of Israel's five total potential land borders are international ...
" and was in the delegations that brokered peace agreements with Jordan,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...