Efraim Sneh
Efraim Sneh (Hebrew: אפרים סנה; born September 19, 1944 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli politician and physician. He was a member of the Knesset for the Avodah and served from 2006 to 2007 as deputy defense minister of Israel.
Life
Sneh is the son of Moshe Sneh, one of the leaders of the Haganah. His father was elected to the first Knesset as a representative of Mapam, before he joined the Communist Party.
Sneh served from 1962 to 1964 in the Nachal Brigade. He studied medicine at the University of Tel Aviv, specializing in internal medicine. After his studies, he returned to military service as a battalion doctor, he served as a doctor of the Israeli Paratrooper Brigade. In the Yom Kippur War he commanded a medical unit of the brigade in the battles west of the Suez Canal. Sneh also commanded the medical unit of the Operation Entebbe, served as commander of the elite unit 669 and as commander of the security zone in southern Lebanon. Most recently, he was head of the civil administration of the West Bank.
After his discharge from the army in December 1987, he joined the Labour Party. 1992 Sneh was elected to the Knesset and served as Minister of Health from 1994 to 1996. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence and Minister of Transport 2001 1999.
Sneh was against the withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but finally he accepted Ehud Barak's decision. He has repeatedly expressed its concern about the nuclear program of Iran. In 2006, Iran complained to the UN Security Council on his remarks, after which Israel must be prepared at all costs to prevent Iran's nuclear program.
On 30 October 2006 Sneh was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence of the 31 government under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He served under Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who was also chairman of the Avodah. The replacement of Peretz by Barak as party chief and defense minister in the summer of 2007 also led to a change in the deputy position; Sneh had on 18 June 2007 vacate his office and was replaced by Matan Vilnai.
May 25, 2008 Sneh announced his resignation from the Labor Party and the creation of a new party - Jisra'el Chazaka ( Strong Israel) - to. He left the Knesset on 28 May and was replaced by Schachiw Schana'an.
Sneh lives in Herzliya. He is married and has 2 children.