Nahum Nir-Rafalkes ( he, נחום ניר, 17 March 1884 – 10 July 1968) was a
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
activist,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i politician and one of the signatories 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 ...
. He was the only
Speaker of the Knesset
The Speaker of the Knesset ( he, יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הכנסת, Yoshev Rosh HaKnesset, Chairman of the Knesset) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel whe ...
not to have been a member of the ruling party until
Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel si ...
in 2020.
Biography
Nahum Rafalkes (later Nir-Rafalkes) was born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, then part of 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. ...
. He studied at a
Heder
A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.
History
''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...
in the city before studying natural sciences at university in Warsaw, Zurich and St Petersburg. He also studied law at St Petersburg and
Dorpat
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
, gaining a
LL.D
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...
in 1908.
In 1903, he joined the Zionist student's organisation Kadima, and was a delegate to the
Sixth Zionist Congress
The Sixth Zionist Congress was held in Basel, opening on August 23, 1903. Theodor Herzl caused great division amongst the delegates when he presented the " Uganda Scheme", a proposed Jewish colony in what is now part of Kenya. Herzl died the follo ...
that year. Two years later he joined
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 ...
, and was also involved in the founding of World Poale Zion. Nir also served as head of the Polish Waiter's Union, and in 1906 led what he claimed to be the world's first successful strike against tipping.
[Call for Reinforcements](_blank)
TIME, 16 March 1959 That year he was sent to prison for political activities, but still attended the seventh Zionist congress the following year. In 1919 he was elected to
Warsaw City Council
Warsaw City Council, officially the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw ( pl, Rada Miasta Stołecznego Warszawy) is a unicameral governing body of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
The council was first created following the location of ...
.
He was offered the position of Commissar for Jewish Affairs but turned it down after consultation with the Central Committee of Poale Zion.
When Poale Zion split, Nir joined the left-wing faction. He served as secretary of the Left World Union of Poale Zion, and was involved in negotiations to allow it to join
Comintern. In 1925 he
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to
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 ...
and worked as a lawyer. In February 1948, he was elected head of the Economic Control Office.
Social Mobilization in the Arab/Israeli War of 1948: On the Israeli Home Front, Moshe Naor
/ref>
Political career
Nir Rafalkes continued to play a prominent role in 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 ...
and was a member of the Jewish National Council
The Jewish National Council (JNC; he, ועד לאומי, ''Va'ad Le'umi''), also known as the Jewish People's Council was the main national executive organ of the Assembly of Representatives of the Jewish community (Yishuv) within Mandatory Pale ...
and the Assembly of Representatives prior to independence. A member of Moetzet HaAm (later 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 ...
), Nir signed the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948. That same year, his party merged with Mapam and Nir was elected to the First Knesset
Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...
in 1949. He served as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
Nir lost his seat in the 1951 elections. In 1954, Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the perio ...
(a faction related to the Left Poale Zion) broke away from Mapam, and Nir assumed membership of the new party. He was returned to the Knesset on its list, when Tzipora Laskov resigned from her seat in October 1955, and again chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
He was initially re-appointed Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, but following the death of the incumbent Yosef Sprinzak
Yosef Sprinzak ( he, יוֹסֵף שְׁפְּרִינְצָק; ) was a leading Zionist activist in the first half of the 20th century, an Israeli politician, and the first Speaker of the Knesset, a role he held from 1949 until his death in 1959. ...
in January 1959, Nir stood in the election for a new speaker against a 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 ...
(Ben-Gurion's party) candidate. Nir won the election due to the support of the right-wing opposition and several minor left-wing parties, marking the only time to date in which a candidate not from the ruling party has been elected Speaker, until Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel si ...
in 2020.
Nir retained his seat in the November 1959 elections, and chaired the committee for public services, but resumed his position as Deputy Speaker when the Knesset reconvened. After being re-elected in 1961 he served again as Deputy speaker and chairman of the committee for public services. He lost his seat in the 1965 elections.
Published works
*''Chapters of Life - The scope of the generation and the movement 1884-1918'' (1958)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nir, Nahum
1884 births
1968 deaths
Jews from the Russian Empire
Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Politicians from Warsaw
People from Warsaw Governorate
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Jewish socialists
Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine)
Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence
Poale Zion politicians
Mapam politicians
Ahdut HaAvoda politicians
Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951)
Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959)
Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961)
Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965)
Speakers of the Knesset
Deputy Speakers of the Knesset