Menachem Ratzon was an Israel

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...

.

Biography

Born in Petah Tikva

Petah Tikva

Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...

 shortly after the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Ratzon worked in orchards, industry and as a tour guide. He joined the Socialist League

Socialist League of Palestine

The Socialist League of Palestine was a political organization in Mandate Palestine. Established in 1936, it was connected to the left-Zionist Hashomer Hatzair movement. The Socialist League functioned as the urban ally of the Kibbutz Artzi movement. In 1946, the Socialist League and Kibbutz Artzi...

, which later evolved into Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and then Mapam. He served on the actions committee 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 was also a memebr of Petah Tikva's Workers Council, and director of its planning department.

He narrowly missed out on a seat in the 1949 elections

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...

, as Mapam won 19 mandates. However, he entered the Knesset on 10 April 1951 as a replacement for Dov Bar-Nir

Dov Bar-Nir

Dr Dov Bar-Nir was a Belgium-born Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapam between 1949 and 1951.-Biography:Born in Brussels in Belgium, Bar-Nir studied social science at the University of Strasbourg, where he was awarded a PhD...

, who resigned his seat. However, he lost his seat in the July 1951 elections

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...

, in which Mapam was reduced to 15 seats.

He died in 1987 at the age of 68

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