Zalman Ben-Ya'akov ( he, זלמן בן-יעקב, born 1897, died 2 March 1959) was an Israeli politician who served as 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 ...

for Agudat Yisrael and the

Religious Torah Front The Religious Torah Front ( he, חזית דתית תורתית, ''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-orthod ...

between 1953 and 1959.

Biography

Born in Sieradz 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 populous ...

), Ben-Ya'akov was educated at a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; 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 s ...

. He was amongst the founders of the Polish branch of Agudat Yisrael, and also helped establish

Poalei Agudat Yisrael Poalei Agudat Yisrael ( he, פועלי אגודת ישראל, , Agudat Yisrael Workers) was a trade union and Jewish political party in Poland and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew acronym (Hebrew: o ...

. In 1935, 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 ...

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 ...

, where he headed the Sinai Institution in

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 ...

and the True Torah organisation in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. One of the heads of Agudat Yisrael's education work, he became a chief inspector of the Ultra-Orthodox education stream. He was on the Agudat Yisrael list for the 1951 elections, but failed to win a seat. However, he entered the Knesset on 24 June 1953 as a replacement for the deceased Avraham Deutsch. He retained his seat in the 1955 elections, in which Agudat Yisrael ran as part of the

alliance. He died on 2 March 1959 whilst still a Knesset member. His seat was taken by Shlomo-Ya'akov Gross.Knesset Members in the Third Knesset
Knesset website

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Yaakov, Zalman 1897 births 1959 deaths People from Sieradz People from Kalisz Governorate Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Religious Torah Front politicians Agudat Yisrael politicians Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959)