Giora Yoseftal

Georg Joseph Thal ( in Palestine: Giora Yoseftal; born August 9, 1912 in Nuremberg, † August 22, 1962 in Lucerne ) was a Zionist politician and Israeli statesman.

He was the youngest of four sons and was born into a liberal Jewish family that was detectable in Middle Franconia, at least since the 17th century. His father was Paul Joseph Thal ( * 1869 in Nuremberg, † 1943 in Tel Aviv, Director General of the metal goods factory front. Dannhorn Max AG, Nuremberg), his grandfather, the lawyer Gustav Josephsthal.

At age 17, he joined the Zionist movement. He came from the youth movement ( Hechaluz ), began as a social worker in Munich with retraining for the settlement in Palestine after Hitler came to power, he became in 1933 chairman of the youth wing of the Jewish communities in Bavaria, in Berlin in 1934 Director of the Youth Aliya, 1936 Secretary General of the Hechaluz organization in Germany.

Since 1938, he was in Palestine and London, founded in Palestine with his wife and other German Jews kibbutz Gal'ed was Haganah fighters, from 1943 to 1945 in the British Army, led the department from 1945 to 1956 for the integration of immigrants the Jewish Agency, in 1952 was head of the Israeli delegation to the reparation negotiations with Germany, 1956-1959 Secretary General of Mapai ( workers' Party ).

Since 1959 he was a member of the Knesset, 1960/1961 Labour Minister in the Cabinet Ben Gurion, 1961 until his death Minister of Housing and Development.

He died at the villa of his older brother, who had invited him to rest after his third heart attack in Switzerland. His body was taken to Jerusalem and buried in Kibbutz Gal'ed.

Giora Josephsthal was married since 1936 with Senta Josephsthal, born Punfud ( 1912-2007 ), the self leading member of the Histadrut and - became in 1955 a member of the Knesset - at the express invitation of Ben-Gurion.

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