Shmuel Rechtman

Shmuel Rechtman was born in 1924 in Rehovot

Shmuel Rechtman was born in Rehovot in 1924 to Simcha and Yosef Rechtman. As a youth he was active in Maccabi Hatzair. He married Naomi Weisenfeld in 1948, and the couple had 2 daughters.

During the War of Independence he served at the headquarters of the Givati Brigade. He later worked as administrative director of the Kfar Silver agricultural school.

He joined the General Zionists in 1949 and later chaired the national council of the Liberal Party. He sat on the Rehovot city council from 1965 and became mayor after the 1969 elections. He also chaired the Likud faction in the Histadrut and was elected to the Knesset in 1977.

He was charged with taking bribes from a building contractor, and his immunity was lifted. He was convicted and sentenced to prison, and the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in 1979. He resigned from the Knesset and as mayor, and was replaced in the Knesset by David Stern.

President Yitzhak Navon shortened his sentence, and he was released in 1982 for health reasons. He continued to maintain his innocence. He died on 23 July 1988, and an industrial area in Rehovot was named after him.