Funeral services will be held in Petach Tikva Tuesday for Joseph Saphir, a former Cabinet minister, member of the Knesset and chairman of the Liberal Party, who died yesterday in Australia where he was visiting as a member of a Knesset delegation. He was 70. His coffin will arrive here tomorrow accompanied by two members of the delegation, Knesset Speaker Reuben Barkat and MK Moshe Baram. Mr. Saphir, born in Jaffa, was a fourth generation Sabra whose parents were among the founders of Petach Tikva, a town in Israel’s citrus belt.
He was trained as a farmer, educated at the Teachers Seminary and became a leader of the Farmers Association, the Citrus Growers Association and the General Zionist Party. He was president of the Petach Tikva Town Council and served as Mayor from 1941-50. Following the establishment of the State, Mr. Saphir emerged as a leader of the middle-road Liberal Party. He was elected to the Knesset in 1949, served as Minister of Transport in the Ben-Gurion Cabinet from 1952-55 and as a Minister-Without-Portfolio in the national unity coalition government formed by the late Premier Levi Eshkol in June, 1967.
Mr. Saphir was one of the Liberal Party leaders who fostered the alignment with the Herut faction to form Gahal, Israel’s principal opposition party. His death occurred at a time of growing friction between Liberals and Herut members and some political observers believe that the loss of his leadership will further the trend, headed by Aryeh Dultzin, toward a Liberal split with Herut.
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