Yisrael Barzilai ( he, ישראל ברזילי, born Yisrael Eisenberg on 1 October 1913, died 12 June 1970) was an Israeli politician who served as a government minister during the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.

Life and career

Born in

Nieszawa Nieszawa (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Nessau) is a town and a commune in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. As of June 30, 2014, the town has a population of 1,985 people. It is located in the historic region of ...

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

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), Barzilai joined Hashomer Hatzair at the age of 11. In 1932 he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to study, before making aliyah to

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. In Palestine he joined 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, and in 1938 was elected head of the independent settlements department of

Kibbutz Artzi The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made ...

. In 1939 he was one of the founders of kibbutz

Negba Negba ( he, נֶגְבָּה) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert near the cities of Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of . The name of ...

. In 1947 he became secretary of the World Union of Mapam. Between 1948 and 1951 he worked as the first Israeli envoy in Poland. After returning to Israel, he served as political secretary of Mapam between 1953 and 1955.Israel Barzilai: Public Activities
Knesset website He was first elected to 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 ...

on Mapam's list in 1955, and was appointed

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. In November 1958 he also became Minister of Postal Services after the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

withdrew from the government. After the 1959 elections he continued as Minister of Health. Although he was re-elected in 1961, Mapam were excluded from the

and Barzilai lost his cabinet position. However, he did serve as Deputy

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 ...

. In the 1965 elections he lost his seat, but was re-appointed Minister of Health by

Levi Eshkol Levi Eshkol ( he, לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל ;‎ 25 October 1895 – 26 February 1969), born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik ( he, לוי יצחק שקולניק, links=no), was an Israeli statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Israe ...

. Following the 1969 elections (in which he also failed to win a seat) he was appointed Minister without Portfolio, serving until his death in June 1970. Following his death, the hospital in

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border wit ...

(whose cornerstone he had laid in 1961) was renamed

Barzilai Medical Center Barzilai Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי ברזילי, ''Merkaz Refu'i Barzilai''; ar, مركز برزيلاي الطبي) is a 617-bed hospital in Ashkelon in southern Israel. The hospital serves a population of 500,000, including a la ...

in his honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barzilai, Yisrael 1913 births 1970 deaths Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Jewish socialists Israeli diplomats Mapam politicians Ministers of Health of Israel Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Deputy Speakers of the Knesset Ministers of Communications of Israel