Moshe Baram ( he, משה ברעם; 17 March 1911 – 5 December 1986) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of 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 ...

between 1969 and 1977, and also as

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

and Minister of Welfare.

Biography

Moshe Baram was born in

Zdolbuniv Zdolbúniv ( uk, Здолбу́нів, russian: Здолбунов, pl, Zdołbunów) is a small city in the Rivne Raion of Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. Prior to the administrative reform of 2020, it was the administrative center ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(today in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) in 1911, attending school in Kovno (now

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

in Lithuania). In his youth, he joined the

HeHalutz HeHalutz or HeChalutz ( he, הֶחָלוּץ, lit. "The Pioneer") was a Jewish youth movement that trained young people for agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel. It became an umbrella organization of the pioneering Zionist youth moveme ...

Movement and "Freiheit-Dror", which was affiliated with the

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

party. In 1931 he made

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 ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

. After arriving in the country, he worked in the construction industry and joined the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

Political career

In 1934 he began working for the

Jewish Agency 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. ...

, and in 1938 became a member of the Secretariat of the Jerusalem Branch of

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

, and in 1943 was made the Secretary. He also served as a delegate to the Assembly of Representatives between 1944 and 1949. In 1948 Baram was elected Secretary of the

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

Workers Council, and served as a Member of the Jerusalem City Council from 1955 until 1959. In 1959 he was elected to the

's list. In 1965 Mapai became part of the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Structu ...

, with Baram remaining a Knesset Member until 1977. In 1974, towards the end of his political career, Baram was made

, also taking over the Welfare Ministry portfolio shortly before the 1977 elections. The elections saw the Alignment's parliamentary representation halved, and Baram lost his seat. However, his son,

Uzi Baram Uzi Baram ( he, עוזי ברעם, born 6 April 1937) is an Israeli former politician, who served as a member of the Knesset between 1977 and 2001, and was Minister of Tourism and Minister of Internal Affairs in the 1990s. Biography Uzi Baram wa ...

did win a seat on the Alignment's list, and went on to become Minister of Tourism and

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

before retiring in 2001. Moshe Baram is the author of the book ''Lo BeTelem'' (''Not in a Furrow''), published in 1981.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baram, Moshe 1911 births 1986 deaths Ukrainian Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Haganah members Israeli trade unionists Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Mapai politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Israeli Labor Party politicians