Ya'akov Nehoshtan

Ya'akov Nehoshtan (Hebrew: יעקב נחושתן‎‎, born 22 April 1925) is a former Israeli politician and diplomat who served as a member of the Knesset for Gahal between 1969 and 1974 and as ambassador to the Netherlands between 1982 and 1985.

Biography

Born in Kazanlak in Bulgaria, Nehoshtan attended high school in Vratsa and was a member of the Hashomer Hatzair youth group. He made aliyah to Mandatory Palestine in 1944, and studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gaining certification as a lawyer. He joined the Irgun in 1944, and was arrested by the British authorities the following year and exiled to a detention camp in Eritrea. In 1947 he was moved to a camp in Kenya.

In 1948 he was amongst the founders of Herut. He became chairman of the party's Jerusalem branch in 1968, and the following year was elected to the Knesset on the Gahal list (an alliance of Herut and the Liberal Party). He lost his seat in the 1973 elections.

In 1979 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. and in 1982 became ambassador to the Netherlands, a post he held until 1985.

His son, Ido, served as commander of the Israeli Air Force.