Yehoshua Rabinovitz ( he, יהושע רבינוביץ, 12 November 1911 – 14 August 1979) was an Israeli politician who served as a
government minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
and mayor of
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
.
Biography
Born in
Vishneva
Vishnyeva ( be, Ві́шнева, Belarusian Latin alphabet, Višnieva; russian: Вишнево, ''Vishnevo''; pl, Wiszniew; lt, Vyšniavas; yi, ווישנעווע, ''Vishneve'') is an Agrotown (Belarus), agrotown in the Valozhyn District of M ...
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
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
), Rabinovitz attended high school in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, and went on to train as a teacher in the same city. He worked as a teacher and headmaster, and was a member of 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. 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 ...
to the
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 ...
in 1934 and studied in the economics and law school of
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
. Prior to independence, he worked for
Hamashbir Lazarchan, and was involved in 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 ...
.
In 1955 he was elected onto
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
city council, serving until 1959. That year he became Deputy Mayor in charge of Finances, a position he held until becoming mayor in 1969. He served as mayor until 1974.
[
Although not 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 ...
, he was appointed Minister of Housing in March 1974 by Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
. After Meir resigned, he became Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
in Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
's government, serving until 1977.[ In the 1977 elections he was voted into the Knesset on the Alignment's list, but lost his cabinet post as ]Likud
Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...
formed a right-wing government.[ His seat was taken by ]Esther Herlitz
Esther Herlitz ( he, אסתר הרליץ, 9 October 1921 – 24 March 2016) was an Israeli diplomat and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment (political party), Alignment between 1973 and 1977 and again from 1979 unti ...
.
While attending the funeral of David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz (born January 10, 1939) is an American conservative writer. He is a founder and president of the right-wing David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website ''FrontPage Magazine''; and director of Disco ...
in August 1979, Rabinovitz suffered a heart attack and died from it soon after.[
]
Commemoration
Yarkon Park
Yarkon Park ( he, פארק הירקון, ''Park HaYarkon'') is a large park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Named after the Yarkon River which flows through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports faciliti ...
in Tel Aviv, officially named "Ganei Yehoshua," is named for him.Changing pollution into paradise
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabinovitz, Yehoshua
1911 births
1979 deaths
People from Valozhyn District
People from Oshmyansky Uyezd
Belarusian Jews
Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Jewish Israeli politicians
Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent
Alignment (Israel) politicians
Ministers of Finance of Israel
Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981)
Mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo
Deputy Mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo
Haganah members
Tel Aviv University alumni
Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery