Shlomo-Ya'akov Gross (; 6 December 1908 – 7 July 2003) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of 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 ...

for

Agudat Yisrael Agudat Yisrael (; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party representing Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews in Poland, originating in the Agudath Israel movement ...

and the

Religious Torah Front The Religious Torah Front (, ''Hazit Datit Toratit'') was a political alliance in Israel composed of Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael. History The Religious Torah Front was formed when the Ultra-orthodox parties Agudat Yisrael and Poalei ...

in several spells between 1959 and 1981.

Biography

Born in the Hungarian part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Gross was educated at a

heder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') 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 century. L ...

and

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

s, and was a member of Young

Translyvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border are the Carpathian Mountains and to the west the ...

, later becoming the secretary of the Transylvanian branch of Agudat Yisrael. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was imprisoned in a forced labour camp, and his wife and two children were killed in

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

. After his camp was liberated by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, he and some friends established an absorption centre for Holocaust orphans and orphans of the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

expulsion. In 1950 he

emigrated to Israel ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...

, where he worked for the Central Bureau of Statistics. He was on the

list (an alliance of Agudat Yisrael and

Poalei Agudat Yisrael Poalei Agudat Yisrael () was a trade union and Jewish political party in the Second Polish Republic and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew abbreviation (Hebrew: or ). History Poalei Agudas Izrael wa ...

) for the 1955 elections, but failed to win a seat. However, he entered the Knesset on 2 March 1959 as a replacement for the deceased Zalman Ben-Ya'akov. Although he lost his seat in the November 1959 elections, he returned to the Knesset as a replacement for the deceased

Binyamin Mintz Binyamin Mintz (; 12 January 1903 – 30 May 1961) was an Israeli politician who served briefly as Minister of Postal Services from July 1960 until his death. Biography Born in Łódź in the Russian Empire (today in Poland), Mintz studied in a ...

on 30 May 1961. He retained his seat in elections in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, but resigned his seat on 27 November 1972, and was replaced by

Ya'akov Mizrahi Ya'akov Mizrahi (; 1919 – 13 August 1980) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Agudat Yisrael between 1972 and 1974. Biography Mizrachi was born in Rehovot in 1919 to a family who had emigrated from Yemen. He was ...

.Knesset Members of the Seventh Knesset
Knesset website Gross was given a place on the Religious Torah Front for the

1973 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1973. Africa * 1973 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1973 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1973 Ethiopian general election * 1973 Gabonese general election * 1973 Republic of the Congo con ...

, but failed to win a seat. However, he returned to the Knesset again on 23 November 1975 as a replacement for Menachem Porush. He went on to retain his seat in the

1977 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

, but lost it for a final time in the 1981 elections. During his tenure in the Knesset, he was involved in trying to eliminate the court

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

and to save moshav Kfar Gidon from collapse. He died in 2003 at the age of 94.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Shlomo 1908 births 2003 deaths Hungarian emigrants to Israel Hungarian Jews People from Transylvania Agudat Yisrael politicians Religious Torah Front politicians Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) 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) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Burials at Har HaMenuchot