Ze'ev Boim (; 30 April 1943 – 18 March 2011) was an Israeli politician. He was the mayor of Kiryat Gat before becoming a

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 ...

member for

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

and later

Kadima Kadima () was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005, and was soon ...

. Boim was Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Housing and Construction, and Minister of Immigrant Absorption.

Biography

Ze'ev Boim was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

during the British Mandate era. He served as a company commander in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

Armored Corps. He earned a BA in History and

Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. Boim was the principal of the Rogozin comprehensive High School in Kiryat Gat. He served as mayor of Kiryat Gat, as well as Chairman of the Municipal Environmental Quality Association of

Ashkelon Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The modern city i ...

District; chairman of the board of directors of the Economic Company of Kiryat Gat; and chairman of the Directorate of the Inter Regional Industrial Park of Kiryat Gat and Hevel Lakhish. Boim was married, with four children. His son Amir died while serving in the IDF. Boim died of cancer in March 2011 at Froedtert Hospital in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Political career

In 1996, Boim was elected to the Knesset on the Likud list, serving as the party's whip, head of the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

Lobby, and head of the Knesset Delegation to the Annual Dialogue between

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

during his first term. After being re-elected in 1999, he served as coalition and Likud faction chairman. He was re-elected again in 2003, and served as Deputy

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

from March 2003 until January 2006. In 2005, he defected to the new

party, while still retaining his ministerial position. In January 2006, he became Minister of Housing and Construction, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, serving in both positions until May. He was re-elected in 2006, and was then appointed Minister of Immigrant Absorption, before returning to the Housing and Construction portfolio in 2007. Placed sixth on Kadima's list, he retained his seat in the 2009 elections.

Controversy

In 2004, responding to a question about terrorism and Islamic political violence, Boim remarked: "What is it about Islam as a whole, and the Palestinians in particular? Is it some form of cultural deprivation? Is it some genetic defect? There is something that defies explanation in this continued murderousness." He was criticized for this statement by many members of the government, among them Meimad leader MK Rabbi Michael Melchior, who said that Boim's comment was racist and against the tenets of Judaism. Boim later apologized for his remarks, saying he was speaking after a recent Palestinian attack and was overwhelmed by the scope of the bloodshed at the time.Israeli Politician Zeev Boim Dies
Associated Press Fri 18 March 2011

References

External links

*

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website {{DEFAULTSORT:Boim, Ze'ev 1943 births 2011 deaths Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Jews from Mandatory Palestine Jewish Israeli politicians Kadima politicians Likud politicians Mayors of places in Israel People from Kiryat Gat Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Ministers of agriculture of Israel Ministers of housing of Israel Politicians from Jerusalem Mayors of Kiryat Gat