Yitzhak "Itzik" Mordechai ( he, יצחק מרדכי, born 22 November 1944) is an Israeli former general and politician. He served 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 (with ...

between 1996 and 2001, and as

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

. He retired from political life after being indicted for sexual assaults during his military service and later periods.

Biography

Mordechai was born in the village of Akire,

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

, to a Kurdish Jewish family, and made

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

to Israel in 1949. He holds a BA in history 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 ...

and an MA in Political Science from the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

. He is a divorced father of three.Yitzhak Mordechai
/ref>

Military career

In 1962 he enlisted to the

Combat Engineering Corps The Israeli Combat Engineering Corps ( he, חיל ההנדסה הקרבית, ''Heil HaHandasa HaKravit'') is the combat engineering forces of the Israel Defense Forces. The Combat Engineering Corps beret's color is silver and its symbol featur ...

of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and later joined the

Paratroopers Brigade The 35th Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת הַצַּנְחָנִים, ''Hativat HaTzanhanim''), also known as the Paratroopers Brigade, is an infantry brigade unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and forms a major part of ...

. He remained in the military as an officer after finishing his compulsory military service. He fought in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

, and

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

. During the Yom Kippur War, he participated in the

Battle of the Chinese Farm A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

. He was decorated with the

Medal of Courage The Medal of Courage ( he, עיטור העוז, ''Itur HaOz'') is an Israeli military decoration. The medal is awarded for carrying out acts of gallantry at the risk of life, during combat duty. The medal was established in 1970 (though it has be ...

for his actions during the Yom Kippur War. In 1984, in what became known as the

Kav 300 affair The Bus 300 affair (), also known as Kav 300 affair, was a 1984 incident in which Shin Bet members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crisis incident ended and they had been captured. After the incident, the Sh ...

, Mordechai, then a Brigadier General, was framed for the killing of two Palestinian bus hijackers. Mordechai was tried, and acquitted when the truth became known. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1986, and became known as the "General of the Three Commands", after serving as commander of all three territorial commands (North, Center and South). The

First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

broke out in December 1987, when Mordechai was commander of the Southern Command. As head of the Northern Command he presided over

Operation Accountability On July 25, 1993, Israeli forces launched a week-long attack against Lebanon named Operation Accountability ( he, מבצע דין וחשבון, Mivtza Din VeHeshbon) in Israel and the Seven-Day War in Lebanon. Israel specified three purposes ...

in 1993. Mordechai retired from active service in 1995 after 33 years of service,Yitzhak Mordechai: Particulars
Knesset website when new Chief of General Staff

Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Amnon Lipkin-Shahak ( he, אמנון ליפקין-שחק; March 18, 1944 – December 19, 2012) was an Israeli military officer and politician. He served as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, as a Member of the Knesset, and as Minister o ...

did not appoint him as his deputy. Mordechai continued to hold the rank of Major General in the reserves following his retirement. After he was convicted of sexual harassment and assault, a military tribunal ruled that he would retain the rank of Major General in spite of his conviction.

Military Advocate General The Military Advocate General (MAG Corps') ( he, הפרקליטות הצבאית, ''HaParklitut HaTzva'it'') is responsible for implementing the rule of law within the Israel Defense Forces. The unit's objectives include integrating the rule of l ...

Avichai Mandelblit Avichai Mandelblit ( he, אביחי מנדלבליט; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who served as the Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually serv ...

appealed the decision, arguing that he should be demoted, but the

Military Court of Appeals The Israeli Military Court of Appeals is the supreme military court of the Israel Defense Forces. It considers and judges over appeals submitted by the Military Advocate General which challenge decisions rendered by the District Military Tribunals: ...

ruled that he could keep his rank.

Political career

In 1995 Mordechai joined

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 Sharon ...

and was on the party's list for the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

the following year. After Binyamin Netanyahu won the election for Prime Minister, he appointed Mordechai as Defense Minister, where he became Lipkin-Shahak's boss. In 1999, a public rift occurred between Mordechai and Netanyahu because of political rivalry and difference of opinion regarding the negotiations with Palestinians. Netanyahu dismissed Mordechai shortly before Mordechai would have reportedly resigned. On 23 February 1999 Mordechai left

along with several other members to establish the new Israel in the Centre party. However, despite strong initial poll results, the party fared badly in the

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

, winning only six seats. Nevertheless, the party joined

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...

's new

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

-led government and Mordechai became Minister of Transport. Mordechai resigned from his ministerial position in 2000 after being indicted for sexual misconduct. He resigned from the Knesset in 2001.

Sexual assault convictions

In March 2000, a secretary in Mordechai's office accused him of sexual harassment and assault. Other women subsequently came forward with accusations of sexual misconduct. Police opened a probe into the sexual misconduct alleged by his secretary and by two other women, one of whom accused him of assaulting her in 1996 when he was Defense Minister and another who alleged an incident in 1992 when he was head of the Northern Command. There were other allegations, but police did not probe them as the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...

had expired. Mordechai's wife left him after the allegations surfaced. In April 2000, police recommended that he be charged with three counts of sexual assault. Mordechai was subsequently indicted and tried. In March 2001, he was convicted on two counts of sexual assault. The judges acquitted him of assaulting his secretary, whose allegations had prompted the investigation, over "inconsistencies" in her testimony, but stressed that this was not a repudiation of her claim.Israeli Cabinet Member is Accused of Sexually Harassing Female Worker
/ref> Mordechai received an 18-month suspended sentence.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mordechai, Yitzhak 1944 births Living people Centre Party (Israel) politicians Iraqi emigrants to Israel Iraqi Jews Israeli generals Israeli government officials convicted of crimes Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Israeli people of Kurdish-Jewish descent Israeli politicians convicted of crimes Jewish Israeli politicians Kurdish Jews Leaders of political parties in Israel Likud politicians Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Ministers of Defense of Israel Ministers of Transport of Israel People from Nineveh Governorate Politicians convicted of sex offences Recipients of the Medal of Courage Tel Aviv University alumni University of Haifa alumni