Naftali Blumenthal ( he, נפתלי בלומנטל; 1 March 1922 – 1 May 2022) 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 ...

for 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 ...

from 1981 until 1984.

Biography

Born in Stanisławów in Poland (now

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...

in Ukraine), Blumenthal 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 ...

Mandatory 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 ...

in 1934. He was a member of the

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929. History B ...

youth movement 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 ...

at the age of 16. During 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 ...

, he served as a company commander in the

Carmeli Brigade 2nd "Carmeli" Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת כרמלי, Hativat Carmeli, former 165th Brigade) is a reserve infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, part of the Northern Command. Today the brigade consists of four battalions, including one recon ...

and was later demobilised with the rank of captain. He worked as an accountant, and joined

Solel Boneh Solel Boneh ( he, סולל בונה, lit. ''Paving and Building'') is the oldest, and one of the largest, construction and civil engineering companies in Israel. History During British rule (1921-1948) Solel Boneh was founded in 1921 in British ...

in 1951. In 1958 he became comptroller of the Industrial Section at

Koor Industries Koor may refer to: * Koor, Indonesia, a village in West Papua, Indonesia * Koor, Rajasthan, a village in India * KOOR, an American radio station * Koor, Camel Bell See also * Coor (disambiguation) * Koore (disambiguation) Koore may refer to: * Ko ...

, in 1965 became head of the Finances Section, and from 1977 until 1982 served as its general director.Naftali Blumenthal: Public Activities
Knesset website Having joined

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 ...

in 1950, Blumenthal became the party's treasurer. After it merged into the Labor Party in 1968, he became a member of the new party's central committee, bureau and socio-economic committee. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the list of the Alignment list, an alliance of the Labor Party and

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

. He sat on the Finance Committee until losing his seat in the 1984 elections. In 1986, he became comptroller of 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 ...

. Blumenthal died at the age of 100 on 1 May 2022.

References

External links

* 1922 births 2022 deaths Ukrainian Jews Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Alignment (Israel) politicians Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Israeli businesspeople Haganah members Israeli people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Israeli centenarians Men centenarians {{Israel-politician-stub