Obituaries

Obituaries from page B35

MK Avraham Ravitz, 75

JTA and Jerusalem Post

A

vraham Ravitz, who served 20
years in the Israeli Knesset,
died Jan. 25, 2009. Ravitz, the
head of the fervently Orthodox Degel
Hatorah party, died at Hadassah Ein
Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. He had
been hospitalized for the past three weeks
due to heart problems. He was 75.
Ravitz, an ordained rabbi, had
announced recently that he was retiring
from politics.
He was a member of the Stern Gang, a
group of pre-state freedom fighters, and
later served in the Israel Defense Forces.
He worked as a yeshivah head before
leading the party that represents the
Lithuanian haredi, or fervently Orthodox,
in Israel's parliament.
Ravitz held a number of positions in
the Knesset. Like other Ashkenazi haredi
MKs, however, he never served as a full
cabinet minister due to a theological dis-

tinction made by haredi spiritual leaders
that by becoming ministers, haredi poli-
ticians would be indirectly responsible
for a wide range of forbidden activities,
including the desecration of Shabbat.
In June 1990, he was appointed deputy
minister of housing and construction.
When Ariel Sharon formed a
new government in 2001, he
became deputy minister of
education, and in March 2005
was appointed deputy minis-
ter of welfare and social ser-
vices. He retained his Knesset
seat in the 2006 election.
In 2002, Ravitz was at the
center of an inspiring family
story. After he suffered kid-
ney failure, his wife and children volun-
teered to donate one of their own organs
to save him. His wife and daughters were
disqualified for medical reasons, as were
three of his sons. But his remaining two
sons continued to fight for the right to

donate the kidney. Eventually, one of his
grandchildren chose lots to decide the
matter.
Last November, Ravitz announced
that he was leaving politics, although he
continued to serve as chairman of Degel
HaTorah.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
saluted his longtime friend in a
statement.
"Long before he thought
about politics and becoming an
MK, he would find the time to
teach me the wisdom of our best
Talmudic and Mishanic sages
and I would eagerly take in his
words," Olmert said. "He was
clear, sharp, easy-going, pleas-
ant, a son of the Land who lived its life
to the fullest and a fighter in its wars. He
felt its pain and rejoiced in its goodness.
"Among the haredi public, Avraham
was an exceptional figure. He was cer-
tainly a student of the wise, perhaps

more than many. But his wisdom, great
knowledge and expertise in the writ-
ings of our sages never led him to be
haughty. He was a true friend, faithful to
his teachers and rabbis, and to ordinary
people he chanced to meet."
President Shimon Peres praised Ravitz
as the "true symbol of a public servant:'
citing, in addition to his leadership as a
politician, the example he set as a rabbi,
educator, soldier and member of Lehi.
He was often a bridge between the
Lithuanian Torah world and mainstream
Israel, a man opposed to coercion, pre-
ferring persuasion through teaching,
said Peres. He was a man who combined
Torah scholarship with universal wisdom
and knowledge.
When arguing with him, Peres
recalled, one was careful not to denigrate
his opinions.
Avraham Ravitz is survived by his wife,
12 children and 77 grandchildren.

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