Eliezer Peri
Encyclopedia
Eliezer Peri born Eliezer Wilder-Frei on 2 February 1902, died 1 December 1970, was an Israel
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
for Mapam
between 1949 and 1955.
, near Jarosław, in the Kingdom of Galicia
(today in Poland
), Peri helped establish a Jewish High School in Lviv
, and was one of its first graduates. He joined the Hashomer Hatzair
youth group, becoming a member of its leadership and, in 1920, it secretary. Between 1922 and 1925 he studied law and humanities at a teachers' seminary. In 1924 he helped establish the World Federation of Hashomer Hatzair.
In 1926 he made aliyah
to Mandate Palestine. In 1929 he became a member of Haifa
Workers Council. Amongst the founders of HaKibbutz HaArtzi, he also helped establish kibbutz Merhavia
in 1929. In 1930 he started work as an emissary of the Histadrut
trade union and Hashomer Hatzair in Europe. Between 1933 and 1949 he served on the Histadrut's council and executive committee.
In 1943 he helped establish the Mishmar newspaper (which later became Al HaMishmar), and was one of its first editors. The following year he became a member of the Assembly of Representatives. In 1948 he helped establish Mapam
, and was amongst the party's leadership. On several occasions, as editor of Al HaMishmar, he received letters from soldiers about the Israeli army killing civilians. In early June 1948 he received an account of an old woman and a child being shot; on 8 November he received a detailed description of events at Al Dawayima
. This led to the issue being raised in the Mapam Political Committee and from there to the cabinet. The subsequent official inquiry
, headed by Shimshon Schapira
, remains classified and secret. He was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 1949
, and in August 1949 was involved, for the first time in public, in a short debate about the expulsion of Arabs. He was re-elected in 1951
, but lost his seat in the 1955 elections
, and in 1969 he left Mapam in protest at its alliance
with the Labor Party, joining Ya'akov Riftin
's Independent Socialist Zionist Union, which ran unsuccessfully in elections for the Histadrut. He died the following year.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
for Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
between 1949 and 1955.
Biography
Born in the village of SurochówSurochów
Surochów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jarosław, within Jarosław County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Jarosław and east of the regional capital Rzeszów.-References:...
, near Jarosław, in the Kingdom of Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
(today in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), Peri helped establish a Jewish High School in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, and was one of its first graduates. He joined the Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
youth group, becoming a member of its leadership and, in 1920, it secretary. Between 1922 and 1925 he studied law and humanities at a teachers' seminary. In 1924 he helped establish the World Federation of Hashomer Hatzair.
In 1926 he made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Mandate Palestine. In 1929 he became a member of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
Workers Council. Amongst the founders of HaKibbutz HaArtzi, he also helped establish kibbutz Merhavia
Merhavia (kibbutz)
-External links:*...
in 1929. In 1930 he started work as an emissary of the Histadrut
Histadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...
trade union and Hashomer Hatzair in Europe. Between 1933 and 1949 he served on the Histadrut's council and executive committee.
In 1943 he helped establish the Mishmar newspaper (which later became Al HaMishmar), and was one of its first editors. The following year he became a member of the Assembly of Representatives. In 1948 he helped establish Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
, and was amongst the party's leadership. On several occasions, as editor of Al HaMishmar, he received letters from soldiers about the Israeli army killing civilians. In early June 1948 he received an account of an old woman and a child being shot; on 8 November he received a detailed description of events at Al Dawayima
Al-Dawayima massacre
On October 28, 1948, the Arab town al-Dawayima was conquered by the IDF's 89th Commando Battalion during the Operation Yoav. The Battalion, whose first commander was Moshe Dayan, was composed of former Irgun and Lehi forces...
. This led to the issue being raised in the Mapam Political Committee and from there to the cabinet. The subsequent official inquiry
The Schapera inquiry
The Shapira inquiry, November 1948, was an internal Israeli government inquiry following reports that the IDF had harmed civilians during military operations in Galilee and the South.-Background:...
, headed by Shimshon Schapira
Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira
-Biography:Shapira was born in Kirovograd in the Russian Empire in 1902. He studied in a Yeshiva and later studied medicine at the University of Kharkov. He was active in the Zionist socialist Movement and was incarcerated for his activism from 1923 to 1924...
, remains classified and secret. He was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 1949
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly 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...
, and in August 1949 was involved, for the first time in public, in a short debate about the expulsion of Arabs. He was re-elected in 1951
Israeli legislative election, 1951
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:¹ Rostam Bastuni, Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction. Bastuni later returned to Mapam whilst Berman and Sneh joined Maki. Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz left...
, but lost his seat in the 1955 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1955
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.-Results:Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 to 40...
, and in 1969 he left Mapam in protest at its alliance
Alignment (political party)
The Alignment was an alliance of the major left-wing parties in Israel between the 1960s and 1990s. It was established in 1965 as an alliance of Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda but was dissolved three years later when the two parties and Rafi formally merged into the Israeli Labor Party...
with the Labor Party, joining Ya'akov Riftin
Ya'akov Riftin
Ya'akov Riftin was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1949 and 1965.-Biography:Born in Wólka Profecka near Puławy in the Russian Empire , Riftin joined the HaShomer youth movement, and was later a member of Hashomer Hatzair, becoming one of the leaders of...
's Independent Socialist Zionist Union, which ran unsuccessfully in elections for the Histadrut. He died the following year.