Former Knesset speaker Shevah Weiss died on Friday at the age of 87.
Weiss, a professor of political science, served as a Labor Party MK for 17 years between 1981-1999, as speaker of the 13th Knesset between 1992-1996 and then as a highly-respected ambassador to Poland and as chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Authority.
Knesset speaker, ambassador, Holocaust survivor
Weiss served as Knesset speaker during the government of late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.
Born in Poland in 1935, in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Weiss was a Holocaust survivor, as detailed in an interview published by the Knesset Museum in which he recounted how two women hid him, his parents and two siblings in their homes for the duration of World War II.
He immigrated to pre-state Israel in 1947 and after beginning his academic studies started his path in politics as a council member in the Haifa Municipality, where he served for 12 years between 1969-1981 before advancing to the national arena and membership of the Knesset.
Israeli politicians pay tribute to Shevah Weiss
President Isaac Herzog issued a statement mourning the loss of Weiss.
“[He] loved his people and the state that he represented with pride,” Herzog wrote on Friday. “My condolences go out to his family and loved ones.”
אני אבל על מותו של שבח וייס, יו״ר הכנסת לשעבר. שורד השואה שהפך לפרופסור בעל שם עולמי, יו״ר מועצת יד ושם, שגריר ישראל בפולין ומנאמני תנועת העבודה. אוהב עמו ומדינתו אותה ייצג בגאון. תנחומיי למשפחתו ואוהביו. יהי זכרו ברוך.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) February 4, 2023
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana also paid respect to his late predecessor, writing that he was "saddened to hear of the passing of Sheva Weiss, whose work and life tell an inspiring tale of the rise of the Jewish people in their land.
“Shevah dedicated his life to the State of Israel and to the Knesset, which is the bastion of Israeli democracy. On behalf of the Knesset, I send condolences to his family and loved ones.”