Rehavam Zeevi, who was assassinated in Jerusalem today, was a Knesset member and Israel's minister of tourism.
Zeevi was born in Jerusalem in 1926. After graduating from the Command and General Staff College of the US Army, he served as a career officer in the IDF, reaching the rank of major-general. Zeevi - nicknamed "Gandhi" during his army days - was held in very high regard by the soldiers under his command. Zeevi served as an advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on anti-terror matters and intelligence from 1974-1977, and as chairman of the board of the Eretz-Israel Museum in Tel Aviv from 1981-1991. He was perhaps best known internationally as an advocate of the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Zeevi was elected to the Knesset in 1988 as chairman of the Moledet faction. He was chairman of the right wing National Union - Yisrael Beiteinu Party, and served as a member of the following Knesset committees: House, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Education and Culture, and State Control. From February 1991 until January 1992, he served as Minister without Portfolio.
In March 2001, Zeevi was appointed Minister of Tourism. Two days ago, Zeevi announced that he and the rest of the National Union -Yisrael Beiteinu Party would resign from the government, protesting the government's decision to withdraw from Palestinian areas near Hebron. The resignations were scheduled to take effect this afternoon.
Zeevi published many articles in the local press, and edited 65 books published by the Ministry of Defense and the Eretz-Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.
He is survived by his wife and five children.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 17 October, 2001.