Meir Nitzan

Meir Nitzan
10th mayor of Rishon LeZion
In office
1983–2008
Preceded byHanania Gibstein
Succeeded byDov Zur
Personal details
Born (1931-05-18) 18 May 1931 (age 93)
Bucharest, Romania
Political partyKadima

Meir Nitzan (Hebrew: מאיר ניצן; born 18 May 1931) is an Israeli politician. He was mayor of Rishon Lezion for five consecutive terms.

Biography

Meir Nitzan was born in Bucharest, Romania. He lived in a displaced persons' camp in Cyprus before making Aliyah at age 16. Upon his arrival in Israel, he lived in the then-transit camp Pardes Hanna. In the Israel Defense Forces, Nitzan served in the Ordnance Corps and reached the rank of colonel. He retired in 1979, but returned upon a promotion to brigadier general as the deputy head of the Technological and Logistics Directorate.

Political career

Nitzan became mayor of Rishon LeZion in 1983 and was re-elected four times. In November 2008, he lost the municipal elections to Dov Zur.[1] After his defeat, Nitzan announced that he would run in the Kadima party primaries and vie for a seat in the Knesset in the 2009 elections.[2] However, he later left the party to support Likud as he was unhappy with the behaviour of party leader Tzipi Livni. Kadima claimed Nitzan quit because the party refused to cover his campaign debts.[3]

Meir Nitzan Auditorium, Rishon Lezion

Nitzan served as acting mayor of Lod in 2011–2013.[4] During his tenure, the crime rate dropped, the municipality organized a sulha, a traditional Arab conciliatory meeting between two feuding families, and the budget was balanced.[5]

References

  1. ^ Damari, Ronen (12 November 2008). "Rishon LeZion: The Mythological Meir Nitzan is Going Home" (in Hebrew). Mynet. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  2. ^ Kaminsky, Vered (14 November 2008). "Nitzan: I will Contend in the Kadima Primaries" (in Hebrew). Mynet. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  3. ^ Kadima candidates lament choice of Livni[permanent dead link‍] The Jerusalem Post, 21 January 2009
  4. ^ Sharir, Moran (January 2, 2013). "In Israel's 'The Wire,' Corruption Is the Bad Guy". Haaretz. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  5. ^ Sudilovsky, Judith (May 7, 2013). "Lod on the Mend". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 11, 2019.