Shatner, Mordechai

Born in Snyatyn, which at that time was on the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Even in his teens, he joined the Hashomer Hashair movement . During his studies at the gymnasium, he became a member of the Geghulutz and was trained in Germany. He first visited Palestine in 1924, and in 1925 he emigrated and became one of the founders of the kibbutz Ein Harod .

In 1927 he was sent by the Union of Young Jews movement as a representative to Germany . In 1929, he was elected to the Zionist Congress from the Poalei Zion movement. Soon after the creation of the party, MAPAI became its member. In November 1933, he became the envoy of the trade union committee in Nazi Germany , where he trained young people from the Gehelutz movement to move to Palestine. In his work, he repeatedly contacted the leaders of the Nazi movement, in particular Adolf Eichmann . In 1935 he returned to Palestine. In 1938, he was sent from the Aliyah Young movement to Vienna . After the Anschluss of Austria, he moved to England . In England, he was responsible for organizing the representation of the Aliyah Young movement. In 1941 he returned to Palestine. In the first half of the 1940s, he served as head of the Gilboa Regional Council .

In December 1944 he was appointed deputy chairman of the National Council . In July 1945, he became a member of the organization's fundraising organization for war veterans as part of the Jewish Brigade . Then he became a member of the Board of the National Council. As part of his post, he dealt with topics of communications, import of Palestinian Jewish goods, assistance to the arrested underground members of Jewish Yishuv . He was arrested during a mass operation of British forces against the Jewish underground on June 29, 1946 (the so-called "Black Saturday" ). Imprisoned in a camp for those arrested in Atlite . Two days later he was transferred to a prison in Rafiah . He was imprisoned there for three weeks and was the headman of Jewish prisoners. After the dissolution of the camp, he was transferred to the camp for the leadership of the Yishuv in Latrun , where he was detained until November 5, 1946. Then he was the head of the economic commission in the National Council. Before the creation of the state , he was also engaged in the provision of civil services to the population .

After the proclamation of the state, he was a member of the Provisional Council (predecessor of the Knesset). In April 1949, he was appointed representative of the Ministry of Finance in Jerusalem . He was engaged in the restoration and development of the city. He did a lot to create public communications in Jerusalem (in particular, in conducting water supply). He was engaged in the construction of housing for the resettlement of campers and the creation of jobs for them. After the creation of the commission for the construction of the government complex in Jerusalem , in the fall of 1949, Shatner became the head of this commission. At the end of that year, he became the head of the Jerusalem Economic Organization, a post which he held until 1952.

In December 1951 he was appointed guardian of the state lands of Israel . In May 1952, he resigned from the post for the development of Jerusalem, but continued to hold the post of head of the Jerusalem Economy Department until his death. In August 1953 he was appointed head of the Development Directorate . He led the founding of the city of Nazareth Illit and was one of the six organizers of Yad Vashem . He was a member of the commission for the election of judges of the first composition of the Supreme Court of Israel .

At the end of 1955, he resigned from almost all posts and created a committee on savings and cost reduction under the Ministry of Finance. He was one of the organizers of the social movement for frugality in Israel. He held this post until his death.

Mordecai Shatner died on April 16, 1964 in Jerusalem. He was buried at Ghar amenuhot .

He was named after the community center "Merkaz Shatner" in the Givat Shaul district in Jerusalem , located on the street, which is also named after Shatner.

Two years after his death, the national thrift association published a book entitled Thrift in the National Economy, dedicated to his memory.

Shatner and his wife had four children. Two daughters (Sarah Leev and Rachel Zion) and two sons.

• David Shatner is a specialist in water and border issues. A participant in the negotiation of peace agreements with the Palestinians , Jordan and Syria .
• Shlema Shatner is a deputy state budget manager at the Ministry of Finance, a businessman who has done a lot to develop the Dan bus company.

Relatives of Mordecai Shatner were American film actor William Shetner and geographer Professor Yitzhak Shatner.