Yair Tzaban ( he, יאיר צבן, born 23 August 1930) is an Israeli politician, academic and social activist.

Biography

Tzaban was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1930. During the 1948 Palestine War he fought in the Palmach. He was among the founders of Kibbutz

Tzora Tzora ( he, צָרְעָה) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about 20 km from Jerusalem, near the city of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology The ki ...

, near Jerusalem. In the 1950s, after moving to

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 ...

, he studied in Seminar HaKibutzim (a teacher's college) and worked as a teacher and youth educator in the poor suburbs of Tel Aviv. Tzaban holds a BA degree in Jewish and General Philosophy from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

.https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=165 For 45 years Tzaban has been politically active. He was a member of the political bureau of the original

Maki Maki may refer to: People *Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name) *Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) Places *Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran *Maki, Rigan, Ke ...

from 1965 to 1973 and its chairman in 1972–1973. In 1977 he was a co-founder of the Left Camp of Israel, a peace list which ran for 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 ...

and Histadrut elections. In 1981 he was elected to the Knesset, where he served for 16 years as representative of the Alignment, Mapam and Meretz. In 1992 he was invited by the late

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

to serve as the Minister of Immigrant Absorption and as a member of the Security Cabinet (until 1996). As Minister of Immigrant Absorption he strove to establish full co-operation with the leadership of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. During the years 1996-2002 he served as the head of the Academic Board of the Lavon Institute for Research of the Labor Movement and lectured at Tel Aviv University to graduate students in the Department for Public Policy. Since 1996 he has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Meitar - The College of Judaism as Culture in Jerusalem. In 2000 he initiated the publishing of ''The Encyclopedia of Jewish Culture in the Era of Modernization and Secularization'', with Yirmiyahu Yovel as Editor in Chief and himself as Director General of the project. The Encyclopedia was published, in Hebrew, in 2007. Throughout his career he has been deeply involved in the fight against religious coercion, for pluralistic approach and for granting equal status to the

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

movements in Israel. As a result of this work, he was invited to be the guest of the Congress of the Reform Movement (Atlanta, 1995) and of the Conference of the Rabbis of the Conservative movement in the United States (1996). He also received (1997) Honorary Doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He is married to Shulamit, father to Smadar and Dror, and grandfather to Dana, Shai, Rothem and Noam. He is the brother in law of Captain Avraham Ariel, who holds the record of being the youngest ship captain in Israeli History.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tzaban, Yair 1930 births Palmach members Israeli educators People from Jerusalem Living people Maki (historical political party) politicians Left Camp of Israel politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Mapam leaders Meretz politicians Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)