Politicsמשה קלמר

Moshe Kelmer

Moshe Kelmer was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset in three spells between 1949 and 1965, and a founder of Hapoel HaMizrachi.

1901 to 1970Co-founding Hapoel HaMizrachiFounding HaBona and MishkanotFirst Knesset member to resign

Born: 1 November 1901, Żychlin
Died: 11 September 1970, Israel
Occupation: politician
Party: National Religious Party
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Moshe Kelmer was born in 1901 in Żychlin

Moshe Kelmer was born in Żychlin, Poland, to Yaakov and Hanna. He studied at a yeshiva and joined Young Mizrachi in his youth.

He moved to the Land of Israel in 1921. He studied at the Mizrachi teachers' seminary in Jerusalem and later studied law at the Hebrew University. He became a lawyer in 1966.

Kelmer was among the founders of Hapoel HaMizrachi. He set up the housing companies HaBona in 1937 and Mishkanot in 1938 and chaired both boards. He also founded the Adanim Mortgage Bank and chaired its board.

He was elected to the first Knesset in 1949 but resigned within weeks, making room for an Agudat Yisrael representative. He returned in 1951 and served until 1959. He entered the Knesset again in 1963 after the deaths of two members and lost his seat in 1965.

He was married to Tova, and the couple had 3 children. He died in 1970. Streets in Haifa and Tel Aviv are named after him.