Yizhar Harari (, 16 July 1908 – 1 February 1978) 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 and

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.

Biography

Harari was born in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

, then under Ottoman rule. He studied political science and journalism at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and then law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and economics and political science in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and was certified as a lawyer. In 1933, he worked as a journalist for

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

newspaper in London. He was a delegate to several Zionist Congresses, a member of the Zionist Actions Committee. From 1945 to 1949 he was a member of the Supreme Committee to Manage Illegal Immigration. He was a member of Supreme Command of the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the I ...

and later a lieutenant colonel in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

. He was elected to the first through fourth

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 ...

s for the Progressive Party, which later merged into the

Israeli Liberal Party The Israeli Liberal Party ( he, המפלגה הליברלית הישראלית, Miflaga Libralit Yisraelit), also known as the Liberal Party in Israel ( he, המפלגה הליברלית בישראל, ''Miflaga Libralit BeYisrael'') was a politic ...

, for which he was elected to the fifth Knesset. During the fifth Knesset he refused to accept his party's merger into Gahal and, along with six other members (including Moshe Kol), formed the Independent Liberals party. In 1968, Harari resigned from the Independent Liberals and joined the Labor Party, which merged into the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

, for which he was elected to the seventh Knesset. He was chairman of the House Committee during the first Knesset, and was also member of the Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee and the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Harari Decision

Harari is best known as initiator of the Harari Decision (; also referred to as the Harari Proposal) of 13 June 1950, a landmark in Israeli

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

. According to this proposal "the First Knesset assigns to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee the preparation of a proposed constitution for the state. The constitution will be made up of chapters, each of which will constitute a separate basic law. The chapters will be brought to the Knesset, as the Committee completes its work, and all the chapters together will constitute the constitution of the state." Following the passing of this resolution, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee set up a sub-committee on the Constitution. Several Basic Laws have been enacted since, and yet Israel still has no formal constitution. He died in 1978. His father was the Hebrew writer and teacher Haim Harari (Blumberg). His son is physicist Haim Harari and his nephew,

Yuval Ne'eman Yuval Ne'eman ( he, יובל נאמן, 14 May 1925 – 26 April 2006) was an Israeli theoretical physicist, military scientist, and politician. He was Minister of Science and Development in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was the President o ...

was also a physicist and an Israeli politician.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harari, Yizhar 1908 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Israeli lawyers Israeli journalists People from Jaffa Israeli Labor Party politicians Progressive Party (Israel) politicians Liberal Party (Israel) politicians Independent Liberals (Israel) politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) 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) Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery 20th-century journalists University of Paris alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni