Nahum Nir-Rafalkes ( he, נחום ניר, 17 March 1884 – 10 July 1968) was a

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

activist,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician and one of the signatories of the

Israeli declaration of independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executiv ...

. He was the only Speaker of the Knesset not to have been a member of the ruling party until

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel si ...

in 2020.

Biography

Nahum Rafalkes (later Nir-Rafalkes) was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, then part of 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 ...

. He studied at a Heder in the city before studying natural sciences at university in Warsaw, Zurich and St Petersburg. He also studied law at St Petersburg and

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, gaining a

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

in 1908. In 1903, he joined the Zionist student's organisation Kadima, and was a delegate to the

Sixth Zionist Congress The Sixth Zionist Congress was held in Basel, opening on August 23, 1903. Theodor Herzl caused great division amongst the delegates when he presented the " Uganda Scheme", a proposed Jewish colony in what is now part of Kenya. Herzl died the follo ...

that year. Two years later he joined

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist– Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century a ...

, and was also involved in the founding of World Poale Zion. Nir also served as head of the Polish Waiter's Union, and in 1906 led what he claimed to be the world's first successful strike against tipping.Call for Reinforcements
TIME, 16 March 1959 That year he was sent to prison for political activities, but still attended the seventh Zionist congress the following year. In 1919 he was elected to

Warsaw City Council Warsaw City Council, officially the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw ( pl, Rada Miasta Stołecznego Warszawy) is a unicameral governing body of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The council was first created following the location ...

. He was offered the position of Commissar for Jewish Affairs but turned it down after consultation with the Central Committee of Poale Zion. When Poale Zion split, Nir joined the left-wing faction. He served as secretary of the Left World Union of Poale Zion, and was involved in negotiations to allow it to join

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

. In 1925 he

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 ...

Mandate 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 i ...

and worked as a lawyer. In February 1948, he was elected head of the Economic Control Office.Social Mobilization in the Arab/Israeli War of 1948: On the Israeli Home Front, Moshe Naor
/ref>

Political career

Nir Rafalkes continued to play a prominent role in

and was a member of the Jewish National Council and the Assembly of Representatives prior to independence. A member of Moetzet HaAm (later the

Provisional State Council The Provisional State Council ( he, מועצת המדינה הזמנית, ''Moetzet HaMedina HaZmanit'') was the temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset in January 1949. It took th ...

), Nir signed the Israeli declaration of independence in 1948. That same year, his party merged with

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

and Nir was elected to the

First Knesset Constituent Assembly elections were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset (Hebrew: כ ...

in 1949. He served as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. Nir lost his seat in the 1951 elections. In 1954,

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period ...

(a faction related to the Left Poale Zion) broke away from Mapam, and Nir assumed membership of the new party. He was returned to the Knesset on its list, when

Tzipora Laskov Tzipora Laskov ( he, צפורה לסקוב, 1904–1989) was an Israeli nurse and politician. Biography Born in the Russian Empire, Laskov studied to become a nurse. However, she and her husband David were exiled to Siberia by the Soviet governm ...

resigned from her seat in October 1955, and again chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. He was initially re-appointed Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, but following the death of the incumbent

Yosef Sprinzak Yosef Sprinzak ( he, יוֹסֵף שְׁפְּרִינְצָק; ) was a leading Zionist activist in the first half of the 20th century, an Israeli politician, and the first Speaker of the Knesset, a role he held from 1949 until his death in 195 ...

in January 1959, Nir stood in the election for a new speaker against a

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

(Ben-Gurion's party) candidate. Nir won the election due to the support of the right-wing opposition and several minor left-wing parties, marking the only time to date in which a candidate not from the ruling party has been elected Speaker, until

in 2020. Nir retained his seat in the November 1959 elections, and chaired the committee for public services, but resumed his position as Deputy Speaker when the Knesset reconvened. After being re-elected in 1961 he served again as Deputy speaker and chairman of the committee for public services. He lost his seat in the 1965 elections.

Published works

*''Chapters of Life - The scope of the generation and the movement 1884-1918'' (1958)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nir, Nahum 1884 births 1968 deaths Jews from the Russian Empire Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Politicians from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Jews in Mandatory Palestine Jewish socialists Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence Poale Zion politicians Mapam politicians Ahdut HaAvoda politicians Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Speakers of the Knesset Deputy Speakers of the Knesset