Eliezer Kaplan

Eliezer Kaplan

MKs


Date of birth = 1891
Place of birth = Minsk, Russian Empire
Year of Aliyah = 1920
Date of death = 13 July 1952
Place of death =
Knesset(s) = 1st, 2nd
Party = Mapai
Former parties =
Gov't roles = Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Finance
Minister of Trade & Industry

Eliezer Kaplan ( _he. אליעזר קפלן, 1891 – 13 July 1952) was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician, one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence and the country's first Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.

Biography

Born in Minsk in the Russian Empire (today in Belarus), Kaplan attended a Heder and high school in Lubitch. He joined the Socialist Zionist Party in 1905, and was one of the founders of the "Youth of Zion - Renewal" movement in 1908, elected secretary of its Minsk Region branch in 1912. He also helped found the "Youth of Zion" movement in Russia in 1912 and was a member of its central committee. In 1917 he graduated from a Moscow polytechnic as a building engineer.

In 1919 Kaplan was a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference. The following year he immigrated to Mandate Palestine, and was involved in merging "Youth of Zion" with Hapoel Hatzair to form Hitachdut, and following his participation in the Conference of the Zionist Federation in London, was elected to the Zionist Executive Committee. A short while later he was sent to Berlin to run Hitachdut's world office.

Kaplan returned to Mandate Palestine in 1923 and joined the Histadrut's Office of Public Works. A director of the technical department of the Tel Aviv municipality between 1923 and 1925, he was elected to Tel Aviv city council in 1925, remaining on the council until 1933. That year he joined the board of the Jewish Agency and served as its treasurer until 1948.

On 14 May 1948 Kaplan was one of the people to sign the Israeli declaration of independence, and was immediately appointed Minister of Finance in the provisional government. He was elected to the first Knesset as a member of Mapai, and retained the Finance Ministry post, also becoming Minister of Trade and Industry in Ben-Gurion's first government. In the second government the Trade and Industry portfolio was given to Yaakov Geri, but Kaplan remained Finance Minister.

He retained his seat and portfolio following the 1951 elections, and in June 1952 became the country's first Deputy Prime Minister. However, he died three weeks later.

The Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot built in 1953, the Kiryat Eliezer suburb of Netanya and the Eliezer neighbourhood of Kfar Saba were named in his honour.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • KAPLAN, ELIEZER — (1891–1952), Israeli financial leader and politician, member of the First and Second Knessets. Born in Minsk in White Russia, as a child he studied in a ḥeder and later on in a Russian gymnasium. Kaplan received a diploma in construction… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Kaplan (surname) — Kaplan or Caplan is a family name common among Ashkenazi Jews, usually indicating descent from the priestly lineage (the kohanim) or a Turkish surname, where it means tiger . It is important to note, however, that Kaplan is not an exclusively… …   Wikipedia

  • Kaplan — may refer to one of the following: * The biography of an individual with the surname of Kaplan ** The origin and history of the surname Kaplan *** Aryeh Kaplan (1934 1983) was a noted United States Orthodox rabbi and author *** George Kaplan, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Kaplan Street — is a major thoroughfare in central Tel Aviv, Israel, running from the Azrieli Center interchange on its eastern edge, to Ibn Gabirol Street on its western edge. Named after Eliezer Kaplan, an important Israeli politician, the street connects the… …   Wikipedia

  • Kaplan Medical Center — The Kaplan Medical Center ( he. מרכז רפואי קפלן, Merkaz Refu i Kaplan ) is a hospital in Rehovot, Israel, located in the south of the city next to the Bilu Junction. In 2001, the hospital had 625 beds [cite… …   Wikipedia

  • KAPLAN, ARYEH — (1934–1982), U.S. scholar and author. Kaplan was a teacher of Judaism who had profound influence on the Teshuvah movement of the late 1950s and 1960s. He was a foremost figure in the Jewish meditation movement, a thinker and writer whose… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Kaplan, Eliezer — (1891–1952)    Israel labour leader and minister of finance. Kaplan qualified as an engineer in his native Russia and settled in Palestine in 1920. During the Mandate he was prominent in the Jewish labour movement. As treasurer of the Jewish… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Kiryat Eliezer, Netanya — Kiryat Eliezer (Hebrew: קריית אליעזר) is a neighborhood in Netanya, Israel. It is named for the first Minister of Finance of Israel, Eliezer Kaplan.Under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Netanya, it became an industrial zone. Now it is… …   Wikipedia

  • HOOFIEN, ELIEZER SIGFRIED — (1881–1957), Israel banker. Born in Utrecht, Holland, Hoofien became an accountant. He was a Zionist from his youth and in 1909 accepted david wolffsohn s invitation to move to Cologne and join the central Zionist bureau there. In 1912 Wolffsohn… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Kaplan, Eliezer — (1891 1952)    Born in Minsk, Russia, he was educated in Russia and became active in Zionist affairs. He visited Palestine briefly in 1920 and settled there in 1923. In 1933, he became a member of the executive of the Jewish Agency, becoming the… …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”