1. Ya'akov Meridor was an Israeli politician, Irgun commander and businessman.
18 Facts About Ya'akov Meridor
1. 2.
Ya'akov Meridor died in 1995 at the age of 81, and was survived by his three children.
3.
When Raziel was killed along with a British officer, Ya'akov Meridor returned to Palestine and took over as Chief Commander of the Irgun.
4.
In 1943, Ya'akov Meridor relinquished command of the Irgun to Menachem Begin, but held senior positions in the Irgun until the Haganah handed him over to the British in 1945.
5.
Ya'akov Meridor was sent to various detention camps in Africa, and carried out daring escape attempts.
6.
Ya'akov Meridor was so eager to escape he refused to take a camp leadership position despite his senior rank in the Irgun.
7.
Ya'akov Meridor finally succeeded in escaping in 1948, and arrived in Israel on the day independence was declared.
8.
Ya'akov Meridor hid in Malka's home in Khartoum prior to returning to Palestine.
9.
In 1960, while still in the Knesset, Ya'akov Meridor set up the deep-sea fishing company "Atlantic Fishing Company" jointly with businessman Mila Brenner.
10.
Ya'akov Meridor grew rapidly, and at its height, operated 42 ships, and extended its operations to oil shipping and the construction of tankers.
11.
Ya'akov Meridor was one of the founders of Herut and was elected to the Knesset in Israel's first elections.
12.
Ya'akov Meridor retained his seat in elections in 1951,1955,1959,1961 and again in 1965 after Herut had merged with the Liberal Party to form Gahal.
13.
Ya'akov Meridor published a book in 1955, entitled Long is the Path to Freedom: Chronicles of one of the Exiles.
14.
Ya'akov Meridor resurrected his political career in 1981 when he was elected to the Knesset on Likud's list.
15.
Ya'akov Meridor was appointed Minister of Economics and Inter-Ministry Coordination by Prime Minister Begin, and was seen as a potential future Prime Minister.
16.
Ya'akov Meridor announced that a scientist had invented a revolutionary chemical process for energy production.
17.
Ya'akov Meridor used the analogy that this process could use the energy of a simple light bulb to light a city like Ramat Gan.
18.
Ya'akov Meridor refused to resign, and retained his ministerial position when Yitzhak Shamir took over from Begin in 1983, but lost his seat again in the 1984 elections.