Old faces were visible and old times were recalled when some 100 former members of the Knesset held their first official reunion in the Knesset chamber this week and received certificates attesting to their service in Israel’s parliaments.
Of the 309 MKs who helped make the laws since the State was founded 30 years ago, only 193 are still alive. Of that number, 102 were members of the labor Alignment, 45 of the parties that now make up Likud and the rest of other factions. "Here the Alignment has a clear majority," one of the veterans observed.
Among the former MKs who attended the reunion were Akiva Guvrin, once a Minister of Tourism; Eliahu Elyshar, Zeev Sharf, a former Housing Minister; Yaacov Riftin, a veteran Mapam leader who broke with that party several years ago and Natan Yellin Mor, once a member of Herut, now an avowed leftist. One of the recipients of a certificate of service was Zvi Alderoti whose term of office lasted only two hours. He was sworn in at the closing session of the last Knesset to replace Aharon Yariv, a Laborite who resigned to join the Democratic Move-mend for Change (DMC). (By Gil Sedan)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
