Rafael "Rafi" Suissa (; 5 January 1935 – 4 March 2024) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for 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 ...

between 1981 and 1984, and as mayor of

Mazkeret Batya Mazkeret Batya () (lit. "Batya Memorial") is a local council in central Israel located southeast of Rehovot and from Tel Aviv. Mazkeret Batya spans an area of 7,440 dunams (7 km2). In it had a population of . The mayor of Mazkeret Batya i ...

on three occasions.

Biography

Born in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 1935, Suissa

emigrated to Israel ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...

in 1950 and was amongst the founders of

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

Komemiyut. He served in the IDF and was injured during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. Between 1950 and 1960 he worked as director of an unemployment office in

Yavne Yavne () is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. In 2022, it had a population of 56,232. Modern Yavne was established in 1949. It is located near the ruins of the ancient town of Yibna (known also as Jamnia and Jab ...

, and for

Amidar ''Amidar'' is a video game developed by Konami and released in arcades in 1982 by Stern. The format is similar to that of ''Pac-Man'': the player moves around a fixed rectilinear lattice, attempting to visit each location on the board while av ...

between 1950 and 1956. In 1956 he moved to

and in 1965 was elected onto its local council, holding the posts of director of the labor department, secretary and treasurer. During 1969 he served as mayor. After the formation of the Labor Party by a merger of Mapai, Rafi and

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda () was the name used by a series of List of political parties in Israel, political parties in Israel. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period of Mandatory Pales ...

, Suissa became a member of its secretariat and central committee, and chaired its

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

branch. He was elected to the Knesset on the Alignment list (an alliance of the Labor Party and

Mapam File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans rect 721 86 995 243 ...

) in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and sat on the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee until losing his seat in the 1984 elections. He also served as mayor of Mazkeret Batya again between 1982 and 1984. Between 1984 and 1986 he worked as Commissioner of the

Israel Prison Service The Israel Prison Service (, ''Sherut Batei HaSohar'', , ''Idārat al-Sujūn al-Isrā’īlīyyah''), known in Israel by its acronym Shabas () or IPS in English, is the state (polity), state agency responsible for overseeing prisons in Israel. It ...

, and also founded the Association to Rehabilitate Prisoners. In the 1988 Knesset elections he headed a party named the Movement for Social Justice, but it won only 3,222 votes (0.1%) and failed to cross the electoral threshold. He became mayor of Mazkeret Batya again in 1993, holding the post until 2003. He later joined

Kadima Kadima () was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan in August 2005, and was soon ...

, and was placed 113th on its list in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 115th in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. He remained a member of Mazkeret Batya council for several years. He died in March 2024 aged 89.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1935 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Casablanca 20th-century Moroccan Jews Moroccan emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Mayors of local councils in Israel Israeli civil servants Israeli Labor Party politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Kadima politicians Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984)