Haim Ramon
Encyclopedia
Haim Ramon is an Israel
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy.
in 1950, Ramon served in the Israeli Air Force
, rising to the rank of Captain, before studying law at Tel Aviv University
, earning a BA. He joined the Labor Party (then part of the Alignment
alliance as soon as he left the military, and was secretary of its youth wing from 1978 until 1989. He entered the Knesset in May 1983, replacing Daniel Rosolio
, and, except for a period between January 2006 and the March 2006 elections, remained a member until 2009. He has been a member of various committees, and chaired the finance committee from 1988 to 1992.
in the government of Yitzhak Rabin
in 1992 where his major achievement was the promotion of the new National Health Insurance Law (see also: Universal health care in Israel). In February 1994 he resigned his position, over the failure of the Labor Party to support the proposed Health Law, which also required breaking the linkage between the Histadrut
Labor Federation and the Clalit
Health Fund. In a dramatic speech at a party gathering he compared the party members to beached whale
s and resigned his position. However, Ramon kept advocating for the law even after his resignation and it was finally passed by the Knesset in the summer of 1994.
. In the subsequent Histadrut elections he beat the Labor faction which had controlled the Histadrut since its founding. He proceeded to privatize most of the Histadrut-owned companies. As a result the National Health Insurance Law was approved during his term of office. Based on recommendations of the Shoshana Netanyahu
Commission from 1990 which undertook an exhaustive review of the health care system in Israel in the late 1980s, the law went into effect on 1 January 1995.
Before the law was passed, health insurance was optional. Even so, 96% of the population was insured. Nevertheless, the law revolutionized the healthcare sector in Israel by streamlining the management, delivery and public financing of medical services in the country and guaranteeing minimum coverage levels to all citizens.
's assassination
, serving as Minister of Internal Affairs under Shimon Peres
from 1995 to 1996, when Labor lost power.
, Ramon was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, overseeing government reform and relations between the government and Knesset. He became Minister of Internal Affairs for a second time in 2000, serving until Barak's government fell in 2001. He opposed Barak's proposals to enter a coalition under Ariel Sharon
, and did not participate in the coalition formed in March 2002 by Sharon and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
, Barak's successor as Labor leader. He ran for the leadership of the Labor Party in November 2002, losing to Amram Mitzna
. In January 2005, the Labor Party entered the government of Ariel Sharon
and Ramon became Minister without Portfolio responsible for Jerusalem Affairs
, departing in November 2005 with the other Labor ministers.
party with which he was deeply involved, and after the resignation of Labor ministers, Ramon broke from Labor and joined Kadima. He was the first Labor politician to join Kadima, paving the way to the current President of Israel, Shimon Peres and Dalia Itzik, who joined him after few days. In the present government
, formed in 2006 and headed by Ehud Olmert
, Ramon was appointed Justice Minister. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
, Ramon emerged as one of the most hawkish members of cabinet.
Menachem Mazuz
instructed the Justice Minister, in response to Ramon's question, to refrain from making executive decisions relating to law enforcement, including the appointment of judges and the granting of amnesty, while under a sexual assault investigation. On the same day Ramon also stated, "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hezbollah." On 17 August, Israel's Attorney General
Menachem Mazuz
decided to indict Ramon for indecent assault
. Ramon responded by saying: "I am certain of my innocence. The court will prove it." As promised before, Ramon announced his resignation on 18 August. He was convicted on 31 January 2007, and sentenced to community service
, which he served in a therapeutic riding center in Tel Mond
. The court did not find moral turpitude
in his actions.
He returned to prime minister Ehud Olmert
's government in July 2007, as Vice Premier and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy and special missions in the name of prime minister Olmert.
On 30 June 2009 Ramon announced his resignation from the Knesset
. He declared that he intends to become a private businessman, but will remain the chairman of the Kadima Council, the party's most important body.
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...
between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy.
Biography
Born in JaffaJaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
in 1950, Ramon served in the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
, rising to the rank of Captain, before studying law at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, earning a BA. He joined the Labor Party (then part of the Alignment
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...
alliance as soon as he left the military, and was secretary of its youth wing from 1978 until 1989. He entered the Knesset in May 1983, replacing Daniel Rosolio
Daniel Rosolio
Daniel Rosolio was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1977 and 1983.-Biography:Born in Tel Aviv during the Mandate era, Rosolio attended the Shalva high school...
, and, except for a period between January 2006 and the March 2006 elections, remained a member until 2009. He has been a member of various committees, and chaired the finance committee from 1988 to 1992.
Minister of Health and resignation
Ramon was appointed Minister of HealthHealth Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Health is a ministry in the Israeli government. The current Minister of Health is Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud.There is occasionally a Deputy Minister of Health...
in the government of Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
in 1992 where his major achievement was the promotion of the new National Health Insurance Law (see also: Universal health care in Israel). In February 1994 he resigned his position, over the failure of the Labor Party to support the proposed Health Law, which also required breaking the linkage between 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...
Labor Federation and the Clalit
Clalit
Clalit, also Klalit is one of Israel's leading health service organizations. Widely known as Kupat Holim Clalit, it was established in 1911 as a mutual aid society...
Health Fund. In a dramatic speech at a party gathering he compared the party members to beached whale
Beached whale
A beached whale is a whale that has stranded itself on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, the body collapsing under its own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.-Species:...
s and resigned his position. However, Ramon kept advocating for the law even after his resignation and it was finally passed by the Knesset in the summer of 1994.
Histadrut chairmanship
In 1994, Ramon split from the Labor Party to form a list called "New Life in the Histadrut" together with Amir PeretzAmir Peretz
Amir Peretz is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for the Labour Party. He is a former Defense Minister of Israel and former leader of the Labour Party, having left those positions in June 2007....
. In the subsequent Histadrut elections he beat the Labor faction which had controlled the Histadrut since its founding. He proceeded to privatize most of the Histadrut-owned companies. As a result the National Health Insurance Law was approved during his term of office. Based on recommendations of the Shoshana Netanyahu
Shoshana Netanyahu
Shoshana Netanyahu is an Israeli lawyer and judge, a former justice at the Supreme Court of Israel. She is a widow of mathematician Elisha Netanyahu , uncle of Benjamin Netanyahu, current Prime Minister of Israel.- Biography :...
Commission from 1990 which undertook an exhaustive review of the health care system in Israel in the late 1980s, the law went into effect on 1 January 1995.
Before the law was passed, health insurance was optional. Even so, 96% of the population was insured. Nevertheless, the law revolutionized the healthcare sector in Israel by streamlining the management, delivery and public financing of medical services in the country and guaranteeing minimum coverage levels to all citizens.
Return to government
Ramon returned to government after RabinYitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
's assassination
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin took place on November 4, 1995 at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv...
, serving as Minister of Internal Affairs under Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
from 1995 to 1996, when Labor lost power.
Failed Labor leadership bid
When Labor returned to power in 1999 under Ehud BarakEhud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
, Ramon was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, overseeing government reform and relations between the government and Knesset. He became Minister of Internal Affairs for a second time in 2000, serving until Barak's government fell in 2001. He opposed Barak's proposals to enter a coalition under Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, and did not participate in the coalition formed in March 2002 by Sharon and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin Fuad Ben-Eliezer , , born 12 February 1936) is an Israeli politician and former military officer of Iraqi origin. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, and has held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Minister of...
, Barak's successor as Labor leader. He ran for the leadership of the Labor Party in November 2002, losing to Amram Mitzna
Amram Mitzna
Amram Mitzna is an Israeli politician and former general. He is the acting mayor of Yeruham, the former mayor of Haifa and led the Labour Party from 2002 to 2003.-Youth, studies and military service:...
. In January 2005, the Labor Party entered the government of Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
and Ramon became Minister without Portfolio responsible for Jerusalem Affairs
Jerusalem Affairs Minister of Israel
The Jerusalem Affairs Minister of Israel is an occasional portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. It was first established under the government of Yitzhak Shamir on 27 November 1990, with Avraham Verdiger serving as deputy minister, although Avner Shaki had served as a Minister without Portfolio...
, departing in November 2005 with the other Labor ministers.
Joining Kadima
Following Sharon's break from Likud, and the formation of the centrist KadimaKadima
Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians...
party with which he was deeply involved, and after the resignation of Labor ministers, Ramon broke from Labor and joined Kadima. He was the first Labor politician to join Kadima, paving the way to the current President of Israel, Shimon Peres and Dalia Itzik, who joined him after few days. In the present government
Cabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...
, formed in 2006 and headed by Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
, Ramon was appointed Justice Minister. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War #Other uses|Tammūz]]) and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon, northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. The principal parties were Hezbollah...
, Ramon emerged as one of the most hawkish members of cabinet.
Indecent conduct and resignation
On 27 July 2006, following a seven-hour police interrogation of Ramon, Attorney GeneralAttorney General of Israel
The Attorney General of Israel stands at the head of the legal system of the executive branch and the head of the public legal establishment, in charge of protecting the rule of law and as such entrusted with protecting the public interest from possible harm by government authorities...
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz is an Israeli jurist, who served as the Israeli Attorney General in the years 2004-2010. Mazuz was born in Djerba, Tunisia, the fourth in a family of nine children of the rabbi of one of the island's Jewish communities...
instructed the Justice Minister, in response to Ramon's question, to refrain from making executive decisions relating to law enforcement, including the appointment of judges and the granting of amnesty, while under a sexual assault investigation. On the same day Ramon also stated, "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hezbollah." On 17 August, Israel's Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz
Menachem Mazuz is an Israeli jurist, who served as the Israeli Attorney General in the years 2004-2010. Mazuz was born in Djerba, Tunisia, the fourth in a family of nine children of the rabbi of one of the island's Jewish communities...
decided to indict Ramon for indecent assault
Indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in many jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime.Indecent assault was an offence in England and Wales under sections 14 and 15 the Sexual Offences Act 1956...
. Ramon responded by saying: "I am certain of my innocence. The court will prove it." As promised before, Ramon announced his resignation on 18 August. He was convicted on 31 January 2007, and sentenced to community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, which he served in a therapeutic riding center in Tel Mond
Tel Mond
Tel Mond is a town in the Israeli Sharon region, located east of Netanya and north of Kfar Sava.-History:Tel Mond was founded in 1929 by Sir Alfred Moritz Mond, later known as Lord Melchett, a former British minister and president of the British Zionist Federation...
. The court did not find moral turpitude
Moral turpitude
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States that refers to "conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals." It appears in U.S. immigration law from the nineteenth century...
in his actions.
He returned to prime minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
's government in July 2007, as Vice Premier and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy and special missions in the name of prime minister Olmert.
On 30 June 2009 Ramon announced his resignation from 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...
. He declared that he intends to become a private businessman, but will remain the chairman of the Kadima Council, the party's most important body.