Ya'akov Gil

Ya'akov Gil was born in 1931 in Jerusalem

Ya'akov Gil was born in Jerusalem in 1931 as Ya'akov Mizrahi, into a large family with roots in Urfa. His father, Yosef Mizrahi, was a building contractor and a Haganah member. Gil attended the Beit Alpha school and belonged to Hashomer Hatzair.

He served in the IDF in the Nahal. After his release in 1952 he joined kibbutz Megiddo, where he stayed until 1954. He later studied social work.

From 1965 to 1983 he worked for the Jerusalem municipality, where he set up its youth, sports and society department. He joined Mapai in 1964 and chaired the youth section of the party's central committee. He was elected to the Knesset for the Alignment in 1981 and sat on the Education and Culture Committee.

He lost his seat in 1984 but returned to the Knesset in March 1988, replacing Simcha Dinitz, and served until November 1988. He was also a minister at the Israeli embassy in Cairo and a member of the Broadcasting Authority plenum.

In 1997 he became chairman of the association running Misgav Ladach hospital, until it closed in 2001. He was married with 3 children and died in 2007. A square in French Hill in Jerusalem is named after him.