Zalman Ben-Ya'akov (; 1897 – 2 March 1959) 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 ...

between 1953 and 1959.

Biography

Born Zalman Jankelewicz in

Sieradz Sieradz (,) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Sieradz is a capital of the historical Sieradz Land. Sieradz is one of the olde ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(today in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

), Ben-Ya'akov was educated at a

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 ...

. He was amongst the founders of the Polish branch of

, and also helped establish

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 ...

. In 1935 he

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, where he headed the Sinai Institution in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and the True Torah organisation in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

. 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 A street in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

is named after him.

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) Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah