Yosef Tamir ( he, יוסף תמיר, 5 March 1915 – 10 August 2009) was an Israeli
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
,
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
and a professional
javelin thrower
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...
.
Background
![PikiWiki Israel 10 a6a09e8ec9e8ad5aa2963bd34c4c366b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/PikiWiki_Israel_10_a6a09e8ec9e8ad5aa2963bd34c4c366b.JPG)
Tamir was born in
Berdychiv
Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...
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. ...
(now part of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
) and
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
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 1924. He passed through elementary and high school in
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
and graduated from the Law and Economics School at
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 ...
.
Between 1935 and 1945 he worked as a journalist for
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
, the
Palestine Post
Palestine Post ( ar, البريد الفلسطيني) is the company responsible for postal service in the State of Palestine.
See also
* Postage stamps and postal history of the Palestinian National Authority
* Postage stamps and postal history ...
,
Yedioth Ahronoth
''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
,
Maariv
''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''.
The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms, ...
and
HaBoker
''HaBoker'' ( he, הבוקר, lit. ''The Morning'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper in Mandate Palestine and Israel associated with the General Zionists. History
The paper was established in 1935 by the right-wing of the General Zionists, , and was a military correspondent during the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
. He was a member of the Maccabi Sports Movement, and won three bronze medals in the
Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...
.
Political career
Tamir joined the
General Zionists
The General Zionists ( he, הַצִיּוֹנִים הַכְּלָלִיים, translit. ''HaTzionim HaKlaliym'') were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann an ...
party, and became its general secretary. Between 1965 and 1969 he was a member of the
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 ...
directorate as head of 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.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
faction (a merger of the General Zionists and the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
* Progressive Party (Iceland)
* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Italy
...
). In the
1965 elections Tamir was also 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 ...
as member of
Gahal
Gahal ( he, גח"ל, 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 ...
, an alliance of the Liberal Party and
Herut
Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') 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.
History
Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...
. Yosef retained his seat in the
1969 election, and again in the
1973 election, before which Gahal had become
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 ...
.
After being elected to the Knesset for Likud again in the
1977 election, Tamir broke away from the party and joined the newly formed
Shinui
Shinui ( he, שִׁינּוּי, lit. ''Change'') was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a ...
, a centrist liberal party. However, he soon left his new party and spent the rest of the Knesset session as an independent MK. He was not returned to the Knesset in the
1981 elections.
Environmental activism
During his lifetime Tamir founded several environmental organisations:
*Council for a Beautiful Israel (1968)
*Non-factional Committee for Ecology (1970)
*Life and Environment Organization (1975)
*Israel Economic Forum on the Environment (1991)
He also launched the environmental journal ''Green Blue and White''.
Tamir represented 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 ...
at the First
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Conference on the Environment of Man in Stockholm in 1972, and was the Likud representative in the Knesset delegation that visited the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Congress in 1975 and the German
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
in 1977.
Tamir won several prizes for his environmental activism, including the United Nations Environmental Prize and a Knesset Prize for "Achievements in the Area of Environmental Quality".
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamir, Yosef
1915 births
2009 deaths
People from Berdychiv
Ukrainian Jews
Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Jews from Mandatory Palestine
Tel Aviv University alumni
20th-century Israeli lawyers
Israeli journalists
Israeli environmentalists
General Zionists politicians
Liberal Party (Israel) politicians
Gahal politicians
Likud politicians
Shinui politicians
Israeli male javelin throwers
Maccabiah Games bronze medalists for Israel
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)
Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics
20th-century journalists
Burials at Har HaMenuchot