David-Zvi Pinkas | |
|---|---|
 Pinkas in 1951 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 1951–1952 | Minister of Transport |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1949–1951 | United Religious Front |
| 1951–1952 | Mizrachi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 December 1895 Sopron,Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 14 August 1952(1952-08-14) (aged 56) |
David-Zvi Pinkas (Hebrew:דָּוִד־צְבִי פִּנְקָס; 5 December 1895 – 14 August 1952) was aZionist activist andIsraeli politician. A signatory of theIsraeli declaration of independence, he was the country's thirdMinister of Transport.
Born inSopron inAustria-Hungary (today inHungary), Pinkas attended high school inVienna, before studying at ayeshiva inFreiburg and law at theUniversity of Vienna.[1] He was involved in Zionist youth groups, and was one of the leaders of YoungMizrachi in Vienna and one of the founders of theYeshuran movement.[1]
In 1923 he was a delegate to the thirteenth Zionist congress, and two years lateremigrated toMandate Palestine.[1] He became director ofBank Mizrahi in 1932, the same year in which he was elected toTel Aviv city council. Three years later he was appointed head of the city's education department.[1]
In 1944 he became a member of theAssembly of Representatives, and between 1947 and 1948 served as a member of theJewish National Council's directorate. In 1948 he was one of the people to sign the Israeli declaration of independence. During the subsequentArab-Israeli War, he was one of the leaders of the security committee.
Following independence, Pinkas assumed membership of theProvisional State Council, and was responsible for drawing up the regulations for the council's committees. In Israel'sfirst elections in 1949 he was elected to theKnesset as a member of theUnited Religious Front, an alliance ofAgudat Yisrael,Poalei Agudat Yisrael,Mizrachi (Pinkas' party) andHapoel HaMizrachi, and served as chairman of the influential finance committee. In 1950, he was also elected Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv.
In the1951 elections Mizrachi ran alone, and Pinkas retained his seat, though the party won only two mandates. He was appointed Minister of Transport, and remained chairman of the finance committee. In his role as Minister of Transport, Pinkas stopped public transport from operating onShabbat.
In June 1952, a bomb was left on his doorstep byAmos Kenan and Shaltiel Ben Yair.[2] He was not harmed in the assassination attempt but died two months later of a heart attack. He is buried in theTrumpeldor Cemetery in Tel Aviv.Ramat Pinkas was named after him.
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