Eliezer Shostak (, born 16 December 1911, died 20 August 2001) was an Israeli politician who served as

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 ...

from 1977 until 1984 and 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 (wit ...

from 1951 until 1988.

Biography

Eliezer Shostak as born in Volodymyrets 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

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 inva ...

). He joined the

Betar The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...

movement in 1930 and made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

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 1935, joining the Betar work battalion in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In i ...

Political career

In 1936, Shostak was elected secretary of the National Workers Labour Federation. He became a member of the central committee of

Hatzohar Hatzohar (, an acronym for ''HaTzionim HaRevizionistim'' (), lit. ''The Revisionist Zionists''), officially Brit HaTzionim HaRevizionistim (, lit. ''Union of Revisionist Zionists'') was a Revisionist Zionist organization and political party in Ma ...

and sat on the movement's national executive. He was placed third on the Hatzohar list for the

1949 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1949. Previous: List of elections in 1948 Next: List of elections in 1949 Asia Afghanistan * 1949 Afghan parliamentary election Iran * 1949 Iranian Senate elections Israel * 1949 Israeli legisl ...

,Brit Hatzohar list
Israel Democracy Institute but the party failed to win a seat. Shostak Square in Ramat Gan

Shostak later joined

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. ...

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 ...

movement, and was placed ninth on the Herut list for the 1951 elections, but missed out on a seat when the party won only eight seats. However, he entered the

as a replacement for Ya'akov Meridor in November 1951. He was re-elected in 1955, 1959, 1961 and 1965. During the Herut convention in 1966 he and

Shmuel Tamir Shmuel M. Tamir ( he, שמואל תמיר, born Shmuel Katznelson; 10 March 1923 – 29 June 1987) was a prominent Israeli independence fighter, lawyer, patriot and Knesset member. After a successful career fighting the British he entered the K ...

constituted the major opposition to Begin's leadership of the party, and the following year he and three other Herut MKs left the party to form the Free Centre. He was re-elected again in 1969, and in 1973 the Free Centre allied with Herut and 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 ...

to form

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 S ...

, for whom he was elected to the Knesset in the elections that year. In 1975, the Free Centre split and Shostak became chairman of the Independent Centre faction. He was re-elected again in 1977 and was appointed Minister of Health in Begin's

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 i ...

. He retained the role following the 1981 elections, but was left out of the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

after the 1984 elections, instead becoming 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 ...

. He lost his seat in 1988, having served in the Knesset for just over 37 years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shostak, Eliezer 1911 births 2001 deaths Betar members Deputy Speakers of the Knesset Free Centre politicians Gahal politicians Hatzohar politicians Herut politicians Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Likud politicians Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) 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) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Ministers of Health of Israel People from Rivne Oblast People from Volhynian Governorate Ukrainian Jews La'am politicians Burials at Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine