Peretz Bernstein (; 12 June 1890 – 21 March 1971) was a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activist and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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 (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

Biography

Bernstein was born Shlomo Fritz Bernstein in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

in the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

.Peretz Bernstein
Knesset He moved to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he worked in the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...

. In 1917 he joined the

Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

, serving as secretary and board member. In 1925 he became editor-in-chief of a Zionist weekly, a role he held until 1935, and between 1930 and 1934 served as the Zionist Organization's president. He

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1936, and became editor of the HaBoker newspaper. He joined the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

, and became a board member, serving as director of its economics department between 1946 and 1948. Bernstein was one of the people to sign Israel's declaration of independence on 14 May 1948, and was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry in the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

. He was elected to the first Knesset in 1949 as a member of the

General Zionists The General Zionists () were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann and their views were largely colored by central European culture. The party was considered ...

, but lost his place in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. Re-elected in 1951, he returned to the cabinet as Minister of Trade and Industry in the fourth and fifth governments.Second Knesset: Government 5
Knesset website Bernstein also stood as a candidate in the Knesset's election for president in 1952, but withdrew after the second round of voting, having come a distant second to eventual winner

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963; born Izaak Shimshelevich) was a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving president of Israel. He was 1952 Israeli presidential elec ...

. Bernstein returned to the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

following the elections of 1955 and 1959, but did not regain his cabinet position. In 1961 the General Zionists merged with the Progressive Party to form the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and Bernstein was elected one of its two presidents. He was re-elected to the Knesset later that year and oversaw the alliance with

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

Herut Herut () was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. Some of their policies were compared to those of the Nazi party. Early y ...

to form

Gahal Gahal (, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until the establi ...

. In 1963, he ran again for president, but lost by 67–33 to

Zalman Shazar Zalman Shazar (; November 24, 1885 – October 5, 1974) was an Israeli politician, author and poet. Shazar served as the president of Israel for two terms, from 1963 to 1973. Biography Shazar was born Shneur Zalman Rubashov to a Hasidic family o ...

. Bernstein lost his seat in the 1965 elections and died in 1971.

Bibliography

*''Anti-Semitism as a Social Phenomenon'' (1926 in German, 1951 in English, 1980 in Hebrew and also in German. In 2008 a new edition at Transaction Publishers was published. It is the unabridged 1951 text, but the title is changed into ''The Social Roots of Discrimination. The Case of the Jews ''. An extensive new preface by Bernard van Praag has been added).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Peretz 1890 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Israeli journalists Candidates for President of Israel Immigrants to Mandatory Palestine Gahal politicians General Zionists leaders Emigrants from the German Empire Immigrants to the Netherlands 20th-century German Jews German Zionists Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel Jewish Israeli politicians Leaders of the opposition (Israel) Liberal Party (Israel) leaders Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) People from Meiningen Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah