Avraham-Yehuda Goldrat

Avraham-Yehuda Goldrat
Faction represented in the Knesset
1949–1951United Religious Front
Personal details
Born1912
Kielce, Russian Empire
Died17 June 1973

Rabbi Avraham-Yehuda Goldrat (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם יְהוּדָה גּוֹלְדְּרָאט, 1912 – 17 June 1973) was an Israeli journalist and politician who served as a Member of the First Knesset on behalf of the United Religious Front, representing Poalei Agudat Yisrael.

Biography

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Goldrat was born in Kielce, Poland, to Rabbi Yissachar Goldrat, author of the books "Minchat Yissachar" and "Mekitz Nirdamim".[1] He studied under the Rebbe of Ostrovtza and was ordained as a rabbi in 1930. During these years, he led the "Youth of Agudat Yisrael" in his hometown. He later moved to Warsaw, where he worked as a journalist for the newspaper "Der Yud." In 1933, he immigrated to Mandatory Palestine. In 1935, he delivered the opening speech at the founding conference of Youth of Agudat Yisrael in Tel Aviv.[2] In 1943, he was one of the founders of the Non-Partisan Religious Union.[3] He was appointed Secretary of Poalei Agudat Yisrael and served as the editor of the newspaper Sha'arim and the weekly "HaYesod." In September 1948, he traveled to the United States to attend a conference of Poalei Agudat Yisrael there.[4]

He was elected to the First Knesset on behalf of the United Religious Front and served on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Interior Committee, and Labor Committee. In the elections for the Second Knesset, he was placed third on the Poalei Agudat Yisrael list, which won only two seats.

On September 23, 1952, Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael left the coalition due to their opposition to the conscription of women into the IDF. In early December, Poalei Agudat Yisrael reached an agreement to rejoin the coalition.[5] The majority, led by Binyamin Mintz and Kalman Kahana, supported rejoining the coalition, while the minority, led by Goldrat and Z. Zohar, advocated for a joint front with Agudat Yisrael in opposing the government. As a result of this disagreement, a new secretariat of Poalei Agudat Yisrael was elected in January 1953, in which Goldrat and Zohar were not included.[6]

After half of the Second Knesset's term, Goldrat demanded that Rabbi Kalman Kahana resign from the Knesset to make room for him according to their rotation agreement. Kahana refused on the orders of the party's institutions due to their disagreement over rejoining the coalition.[7] Goldrat sought to take Kahana to a rabbinical court before Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman, but the latter did not attend the hearing.[8] The Chief Rabbinate ruled that Rabbi Kahana must attend the hearing.[9] However, Goldrat was persuaded to cancel the lawsuit, and instead, an internal "Committee of Four" of Poalei Agudat Yisrael was appointed to resolve the matter.[10] The committee determined that due to changes in the party's power dynamics, Kahana should continue serving in the Knesset.[11] According to press reports, which were denied by Binyamin Mintz, Kahana paid compensation to Goldrat for not honoring the rotation agreement.[12] In January 1954, these rumors drew condemnation from the Knesset Committee.[13][14]

Following the dispute, Goldrat led an internal opposition within Poalei Agudat Yisrael, which was represented at the Great Assembly of Agudat Yisrael and was claimed to include about 40% of the party.[15] However, ahead of the Third Knesset elections, Goldrat was not included on the Poalei Agudat Yisrael list, and in 1956, he joined the Hapoel HaMizrachi party.[16]

In July 1956, Goldrat was elected to the National Religious Party's 13-member executive committee.[17] He was appointed head of the propaganda department.[18] In 1967, he was appointed director of the Rambam Library in Tel Aviv, a position he held until his death in 1973.

Avraham Yehuda Goldrat's tombstone

Views

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Goldrat supported broad cooperation between Agudat Yisrael and Zionist parties, particularly with Mizrachi and Hapoel HaMizrachi.[19][20] However, in the early 1950s, he led a position closer to Agudat Yisrael's stance, which was skeptical of coalition partnerships with secular parties. He voted in the minority against supporting a secular mayor in the Petah Tikva Municipality,[21] and even resigned from the municipal committee when his opinion was not accepted.[22]

Goldrat stated in the Knesset that he supported the death penalty, but he refused to vote against its abolition as long as the state's laws were not in accordance with Torah law.[1]

He is the father of Eliyahu M. Goldratt.

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  1. ^ a b "Meir Blumenfeld, Torah Chaim B, pages 146-148".
  2. ^ "Foundation of Youth of Agudat Yisrael, Darkeinu, 1935, page 20".
  3. ^ Tidhar, David (1947). "Avraham Yehuda Goldrat". Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel (in Hebrew). Vol. {{{1}}}. Estate of David Tidhar and Touro College Libraries. p. {{{2}}}. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |script-entry=: missing title part (help)
  4. ^ "Poalei Agudat Yisrael, HaPardes, September 1948, pages 5-6".
  5. ^ "Poalei Agudat Yisrael rejoin the government". Davar. December 4, 1952. p. 17. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. ^ "Poalei Agudat Yisrael's Secretariat Reconstituted". Davar. January 18, 1953. p. 21. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. ^ "We Prohibited MK Kahana from Speaking". Maariv. August 26, 1953. p. 31. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  8. ^ "Two Hold on to the Knesset Seat". Maariv. August 24, 1953. p. 38. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  9. ^ "Rabbi S. Kahana Required to Attend Rabbinical Court". Maariv. November 17, 1953. p. 45. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  10. ^ "Poalei Agudat Yisrael Secretariat on the Goldrat Issue". Davar. January 4, 1954. p. 66. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. ^ "Conclusions of the Committee on the Goldrat Issue". Davar. January 10, 1954. p. 79. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  12. ^ "Small Foxes". Herut. January 1, 1954. p. 107. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  13. ^ "Further Details on the Goldrat Matter". Davar. January 5, 1954. p. 56. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  14. ^ "The Knesset Committee Condemns Monetary Bartering for Seats". Davar. January 6, 1954. p. 11. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  15. ^ "The Great Assembly of Agudat Yisrael on June 29". Davar. June 11, 1954. p. 91. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  16. ^ "Two Agudat Yisrael Activists Join Hapoel HaMizrachi". Herut. May 31, 1956. p. 35. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  17. ^ "The National Religious Party Chooses an Executive Committee". Davar. July 9, 1956. p. 14. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  18. ^ "Division of Responsibilities in the Party Leadership". HaTzofe. July 22, 1956. p. 24. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  19. ^ A.Y. Goldrat (December 22, 1938). "On the Face of Reality". HaTzofe. p. 40. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  20. ^ "Extremists in the United Religious Front Removed from Negotiations". Herut. October 29, 1950. p. 63. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  21. ^ "Poalei Agudat Yisrael Representative Voted Against the Party Center". Herut. January 9, 1951. p. 38. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  22. ^ "The Dispute Among Religious Workers Escalates". Maariv. January 9, 1951. p. 32. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
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