Zvi Hendel
Encyclopedia
Zvi Hendel is an Israel
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
for the Tkuma
faction of the National Union
between 1996 and 2009.
in Romania
, Hendel made aliyah
in 1959 and in his military service he served as a Gadna
instructor. In his reserve duty he served as part of a reconnaissance unit
in the Israeli Artillery Corps and took part in the Yom Kippur War
.
In 1977 he moved with his family to the Israeli settlement
of Ganei Tal
, part of the Gush Katif
bloc in the Gaza Strip
.
, and was first elected to the 14th Knesset
in 1996 as a National Religious Party
representative. Towards the end of his term, he left the party along with Hanan Porat
and formed the "Emunim" faction, which soon after changed its name to Tkuma
. As part the Tkuma party, he joined the National Union
list, and was elected to the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth Knessets.
In the 15th Knesset, he served as chairman of the Aliyah
, Absorption, and Diaspora
committee.
During Ariel Sharon
's second term as Prime Minister of Israel
, Hendel served as Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, and Sports until the National Union party was dismissed from the coalition on 6 June 2004 prior to a vote on the disengagement plan.
A significant part of his parliamentary career was devoted to efforts for the residents of Gush Katif
(where he himself resided), and strengthening the right wing
in the Knesset. In this context, he also coined the phrase "כעומק החקירה, כך עומק העקירה" ("As deep the investigation is, so is the uprooting"), commenting on the legal investigations
ongoing against Sharon at the same time Sharon changed his political views and decided on the Disengagement Plan.
Hendel also served as head of the Agricultural caucus in the Knesset.
In 2005, Hendel was evicted from his home along with fellow residents of Ganei Tal as part of the Disengagement Plan. Him and his family's dealing with the eviction was the subject of the documentaries "Katif", and "Last Katif".
In 2006, Hendel submitted a bill proposal that would tie an oath of loyalty to "a Jewish and democratic
Israel" and to the laws of Israel, to the right to vote. The Bill was turned down by a vote of 45-17.
He lost his seat in the 2009 elections
.
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 the Tkuma
Tkuma
Tkuma is a right wing political party in Israel.-Background:Tkuma was established in 1998 when Hanan Porat and Zvi Hendel left the National Religious Party. At first the new party was named Emunim , but was later renamed Tkuma...
faction of the National Union
National Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
between 1996 and 2009.
Biography
Born in TransylvaniaTransylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Hendel made aliyah
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...
in 1959 and in his military service he served as a Gadna
Gadna (Israel)
Gadna is an Israeli military program to prepare youth for their mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces or Border Police. A one week program of discipline and military learning run mostly by soldiers of the Nahal infantry brigade, as well as by soldiers recruited and trained...
instructor. In his reserve duty he served as part of a reconnaissance unit
Sayeret
Sayeret , literally means "reconnaissance unit" in the Israel Defense Forces . In practice, these units specialize in commando and other special forces roles, in addition to reconnaissance...
in the Israeli Artillery Corps and took part in the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
.
In 1977 he moved with his family to the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Ganei Tal
Ganei Tal
Ganei Tal was an Israeli settlement in the south of the Gaza Strip. Located in the Gush Katif settlement bloc, it was established as a moshav in 1979 with a primarily agricultural purpose; exporting geraniums and tomatoes to Europe. It had a population of some 75 families, or 500 people.Lined...
, part of the Gush Katif
Gush Katif
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...
bloc in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.
Political career
In the early 1990s, Hendel was elected to the head of the Hof Aza Regional CouncilHof Aza Regional Council
The Hof Aza Regional Council was a regional council of Israel until 2005 when its residents were evicted from their homes and the area was liquidated as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.The seat was in Neve Dekalim...
, and was first elected to the 14th Knesset
Israeli legislative election, 1996
Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...
in 1996 as a National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
representative. Towards the end of his term, he left the party along with Hanan Porat
Hanan Porat
-External links:...
and formed the "Emunim" faction, which soon after changed its name to Tkuma
Tkuma
Tkuma is a right wing political party in Israel.-Background:Tkuma was established in 1998 when Hanan Porat and Zvi Hendel left the National Religious Party. At first the new party was named Emunim , but was later renamed Tkuma...
. As part the Tkuma party, he joined the National Union
National Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
list, and was elected to the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth Knessets.
In the 15th Knesset, he served as chairman of the Aliyah
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...
, Absorption, and Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
committee.
During 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....
's second term as Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
, Hendel served as Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, and Sports until the National Union party was dismissed from the coalition on 6 June 2004 prior to a vote on the disengagement plan.
A significant part of his parliamentary career was devoted to efforts for the residents of Gush Katif
Gush Katif
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...
(where he himself resided), and strengthening the right wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
in the Knesset. In this context, he also coined the phrase "כעומק החקירה, כך עומק העקירה" ("As deep the investigation is, so is the uprooting"), commenting on the legal investigations
Greek island affair
The Greek island affair was an Israeli political scandal involving David Appel, Ariel Sharon, at the time a minister in the Likud party, and others close to Sharon...
ongoing against Sharon at the same time Sharon changed his political views and decided on the Disengagement Plan.
Hendel also served as head of the Agricultural caucus in the Knesset.
In 2005, Hendel was evicted from his home along with fellow residents of Ganei Tal as part of the Disengagement Plan. Him and his family's dealing with the eviction was the subject of the documentaries "Katif", and "Last Katif".
In 2006, Hendel submitted a bill proposal that would tie an oath of loyalty to "a Jewish and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
Israel" and to the laws of Israel, to the right to vote. The Bill was turned down by a vote of 45-17.
He lost his seat in the 2009 elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
.
External links
- Zvi Hendel Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs