Zalman Shoval
Encyclopedia
Zalman Shoval is an Israel
i politician and diplomat.
He was the Israeli ambassador to the United States in the years 1990-1993 and 1998–2000, and an active member of the Knesset in the Rafi party of Ben Gurion, the Statal List, and the Likud
party.
(now Gdańsk
, Poland
), then home to a large Jewish community
, as the son of a Jewish family originating in Eastern Europe. His father was born in Latvia
. They immmigrated
to Mandate Palestine in 1938. Shoval attended the "Geula" high school in Tel Aviv
before studying for a BA at UC Berkeley
, an MA at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
in Geneva and then a PhD (by correspondence) in international studies.
Between 1955 and 1957 he worked in the Ministry Foreign Affairs, after which he became involved in finance, twice serving as chairman of the Bankers Association Council.
Shoval joined David Ben-Gurion
when he left to found Rafi in 1965, and then again when Ben-Gurion founded the National List
in 1969. In the elections that year
he narrowly missed out on being elected to the Knesset
- Shoval was placed fifth on the party's list, but it won only four seats. However, when Ben-Gurion resigned from the Knesset in May 1970, Shoval took his place.
Shortly before the 1973 elections
, the National List joined other groups to form the Likud
, and Shoval was returned to the Knesset as a Likud MK. Re-elected in 1977, he was responsible for information in Foreign Affairs Ministry as a deputy to Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan.
In January 1981 Shoval and two other Likud MKs (Yigal Hurvitz
and Yitzhak Peretz
) broke away from the party to form Telem
with Moshe Dayan
. However, in the 1981 elections
Telem won only two mandates, and Shoval lost his seat.
In 1984 Hurvitz and Shoval formed Ometz
. Whilst he missed out on election to the Knesset in that year's elections
, Ometz merged back into Likud in 1986, and in 1988 Shoval was elected
back into the Knesset as a Likud MK.
He resigned from the Knesset in October 1990 in order to become Israeli Ambassador to the United States, a post he held until 1993, and again between 1998 and 2000.
In the late 1990s, he partnered up with Israeli businessperson
Shlomo Grofman
. Together, they established Faire Fund (First American Israeli Real Estate Fund) and Shoval Grofman Real Estate Limited.
Today Shoval is member of the International Board of Governors of the Ariel University Center of Samaria.
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 diplomat.
He was the Israeli ambassador to the United States in the years 1990-1993 and 1998–2000, and an active member of the Knesset in the Rafi party of Ben Gurion, the Statal List, and the Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
party.
Biography
Shoval was born in the Free City of DanzigFree City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
(now Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, 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...
), then home to a large Jewish community
Jewish community of Danzig
The Jewish Community of Gdańsk dates back at least to the 15th century. For many centuries it was separated from the rest of the city. Under Polish rule, Jews acquired limited rights in the city in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the incorporation into Prussia the community largely assimilated...
, as the son of a Jewish family originating in Eastern Europe. His father was born in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. They immmigrated
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 1938. Shoval attended the "Geula" high school in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
before studying for a BA at UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, an MA at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies is a highly selective postgraduate educational and research institute situated in Geneva, Switzerland...
in Geneva and then a PhD (by correspondence) in international studies.
Between 1955 and 1957 he worked in the Ministry Foreign Affairs, after which he became involved in finance, twice serving as chairman of the Bankers Association Council.
Shoval joined David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
when he left to found Rafi in 1965, and then again when Ben-Gurion founded the National List
National List
The National List , sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is an ancestor of the modern-day Likud, Israel's largest right-wing bloc.-Background:The National List had been...
in 1969. In the elections that year
Israeli legislative election, 1969
Elections for the seventh Knesset were held in Israel on 28 October 1969. Voter turnout was 81.7%.-Results:¹ Meir Avizohar defected from the National List to the Alignment² Avner Shaki left the National Religious Party and remained a single MK...
he narrowly missed out on being elected 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...
- Shoval was placed fifth on the party's list, but it won only four seats. However, when Ben-Gurion resigned from the Knesset in May 1970, Shoval took his place.
Shortly before the 1973 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1973
The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement...
, the National List joined other groups to form the Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
, and Shoval was returned to the Knesset as a Likud MK. Re-elected in 1977, he was responsible for information in Foreign Affairs Ministry as a deputy to Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan.
In January 1981 Shoval and two other Likud MKs (Yigal Hurvitz
Yigal Hurvitz
Yigal Hurvitz was an Israeli politician who served as a government minister in the late 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:Hurvitz was born in Nahlat Yehuda in 1918. Between 1938 and 1941 he was a member of the secretariat of HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed, and served in the Jewish Brigade during World War II...
and Yitzhak Peretz
Yitzhak Peretz (politician born 1936)
Yitzhak Peretz was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1974 and 1988.-Biography:Born in Casablanca in Morocco in 1936, Peretz made aliyah to Israel in 1950. He attended the Mikveh Yisrael agricultural high school, and later Bar-Ilan University. In 1956 he joined...
) broke away from the party to form Telem
Telem (political party)
Telem , lit. Movement for National Renewal) was a political party in Israel.-Background:Telem was formed on 19 May 1981 during the ninth Knesset by Moshe Dayan and two ex-Likud MKs. Dayan had been elected to the Knesset as an MK for the Alignment, which had lost the election for the first time in...
with Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
. However, in the 1981 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1981
Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...
Telem won only two mandates, and Shoval lost his seat.
In 1984 Hurvitz and Shoval formed Ometz
Ometz (political party)
Ometz , originally Rafi – National List , then the National List was a small right-wing political party in Israel, which existed briefly in 1981, and then from 1983 until 1987...
. Whilst he missed out on election to the Knesset in that year's elections
Israeli legislative election, 1984
Elections for the eleventh Knesset were held in Israel on 23 July 1984. Voter turnout was 78.8%. The results saw the Alignment return to being the largest party in the Knesset, a status it had lost in 1977...
, Ometz merged back into Likud in 1986, and in 1988 Shoval was elected
Israeli legislative election, 1988
Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988. Voter turnout was 79.7%.-Results:1 Five members of the Likud left to form the Party for the Advancement of the Zionist Idea; after two returned, the party was renamed the New Liberal Party...
back into the Knesset as a Likud MK.
He resigned from the Knesset in October 1990 in order to become Israeli Ambassador to the United States, a post he held until 1993, and again between 1998 and 2000.
In the late 1990s, he partnered up with Israeli businessperson
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
Shlomo Grofman
Shlomo Grofman
Shlomo Grofman is a leading Israeli real estate developer businessperson.-Biography:Shlomo Grofman is a central figure in many sectors of the Israeli business community and is widely acknowledged as one of the most prominent and innovative real estate entrepreneurs.Shlomo Grofman is the Active...
. Together, they established Faire Fund (First American Israeli Real Estate Fund) and Shoval Grofman Real Estate Limited.
Today Shoval is member of the International Board of Governors of the Ariel University Center of Samaria.