Peretz Bernstein
Encyclopedia
Peretz Bernstein was a Zionist
activist and Israel
i politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.
, Bernstein was fortunate to decide to leave Germany before the First World War, when as a Jew he was refused entry to the officer reserve after army service. He moved to the Netherlands
where he worked in the grain trade
. In 1917 he joined the Zionist Organisation, serving as secretary and board member. In 1925 he became editor-in-chief of a Zionist weekly, a role he held until 1935, and between 1930 and 1934 served as the Zionist Organisation's president.
He emigrated
to Mandate Palestine in 1936, and became editor of the HaBoker
newspaper. He joined the Jewish Agency
, and became a board member, serving as director of its economics department between 1946 and 1948.
Bernstein was one of the people to sign Israel's declaration of independence on 14 May 1948, and was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry
in the provisional government
.
He was elected to the first Knesset
in 1949 as a member of the General Zionists
, but lost his place in the cabinet
. Re-elected in 1951, he returned to the cabinet as Minister of Trade and Industry in the fourth
and fifth
governments. Bernstein also stood as a candidate in the Knesset's election for president
in 1952, but withdrew after the second round of voting, having come a distant second to eventual winner Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
.
Bernstein was returned to the Knesset
in elections in 1955, 1959, but did not regain his cabinet position. In 1961 the General Zionists merged with the Progressive Party
to form the Liberal Party
and Bernstein was elected one of its two presidents. He was re-elected to the Knesset later that year and oversaw the alliance with Menachem Begin
's Herut
to form Gahal
. In 1963 he ran again for president
, but lost by 67–33 to Zalman Shazar
. Bernstein lost his seat in the 1965 elections
and died in 1971.
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
activist and 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 and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.
Biography
After being born in the German town of MeiningenMeiningen
Meiningen is a town in Germany - located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia and is the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra....
, Bernstein was fortunate to decide to leave Germany before the First World War, when as a Jew he was refused entry to the officer reserve after army service. He moved to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
where he worked in the grain trade
Grain trade
The grain trade refers the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, maize, and rice.-History:The grain trade is probably nearly as old as grain growing, going back the Neolithic Revolution . Wherever there is a scarcity of land The grain trade refers the local...
. In 1917 he joined the Zionist Organisation, serving as secretary and board member. In 1925 he became editor-in-chief of a Zionist weekly, a role he held until 1935, and between 1930 and 1934 served as the Zionist Organisation's president.
He emigrated
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 1936, and became editor of the HaBoker
HaBoker
HaBoker was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper in Mandate Palestine and Israel associated with the General Zionists.The paper was established in 1935 by the right-wing of the General Zionists, with the first edition published on 11 October that year...
newspaper. He joined the Jewish Agency
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
, and became a board member, serving as director of its economics department between 1946 and 1948.
Bernstein was one of the people to sign Israel's declaration of independence on 14 May 1948, and was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry
Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel
The Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour and a position in the Israeli cabinet....
in the provisional government
Provisional government of Israel
The provisional government of Israel was the temporary cabinet which governed Israel from shortly before independence until the formation of the first government in March 1949 following the first Knesset elections in January that year....
.
He was elected to the first Knesset
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...
in 1949 as a member of the General Zionists
General Zionists
The General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. Their political arm is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud.-History:...
, but lost his place in the cabinet
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...
. Re-elected in 1951, he returned to the cabinet as Minister of Trade and Industry in the fourth
Fourth government of Israel
The fourth government of Israel was formed by David Ben-Gurion during the second Knesset on 24 December 1952. Ben-Gurion dropped the ultra-orthodox parties Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael from his coalition and replaced them with the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, who formed...
and fifth
Fifth government of Israel
The fifth government of Israel was formed by Moshe Sharett during the second Knesset on 26 January 1954, and was the first government not led by David Ben-Gurion. Sharett kept the same coalition partners as during the fourth government, i.e...
governments. Bernstein also stood as a candidate in the Knesset's election for president
Israeli presidential election, 1952
An election to choose the second President of Israel was held in the Knesset on 8 December 1952 following the death of the Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann on 9 November...
in 1952, but withdrew after the second round of voting, having come a distant second to eventual winner Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was a historian, Labor Zionist leader, the second and longest-serving President of Israel.-Biography:...
.
Bernstein was returned to 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...
in elections in 1955, 1959, but did not regain his cabinet position. In 1961 the General Zionists merged with the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (Israel)
The Progressive Party was a political party in Israel.-History:The Progressive Party was a liberal party, most of whose founders came from the ranks of the New Aliyah Party and HaOved HaTzioni, which had been active prior to independence...
to form the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Israel)
The Israeli Liberal Party was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Likud.-History:The Liberal Party was formed on 8 May 1961, towards the end of the fourth Knesset, by a merger of the General Zionists and the Progressive Party, with the new party having 14...
and Bernstein was elected one of its two presidents. He was re-elected to the Knesset later that year and oversaw the alliance with Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
's Herut
Herut
Herut was the major right-wing political party in Israel from the 1940s until its formal merger into Likud in 1988, and an adherent of Revisionist Zionism.-History:...
to form Gahal
Gahal
Gahal , lit. Herut-Liberals Bloc) was the major right-wing political faction in Israel led by Menachem Begin from its founding in 1965 until it merged into Likud in 1973.-Background:...
. In 1963 he ran again for president
Israeli presidential election, 1963
An election to choose the third President of Israel was held in the Knesset on 21 May 1963 following the death of the county's second president, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi on 23 April...
, but lost by 67–33 to Zalman Shazar
Zalman Shazar
Zalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:...
. Bernstein lost his seat in the 1965 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1965
Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1965. Voter turnout was 85.9%.-Background:Prior to the elections, two major alliances were formed; Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda united to form the Alignment, whilst Herut and the Liberal Party had formed the Gahal alliance towards the end...
and died in 1971.