Yitzhak Mordechai Minister Date of Birth: 22.11.1944 Country: Israel

Biography of Itzhak Mordechai

Itzhak Mordechai was an Israeli military, political, and state figure. Born in 1944 in Southern Kurdistan, Iraq, his family immigrated to Israel when he was five years old. Mordechai served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for over 33 years, participating in various wars and operations.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Mordechai commanded a paratrooper unit fighting on the Sinai Peninsula. He also played a role in the War of Attrition from 1969 to 1970, leading operations in the Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese territories as the deputy commander of a paratrooper battalion. In the Yom Kippur War in 1973, he commanded a battalion in the Suez area.

Mordechai's bravery and courage during the Yom Kippur War earned him the prestigious "Itur Ha'Oz" (Medal of Valor), one of Israel's highest honors. In 1982, during Operation Peace for Galilee, he commanded a division that advanced along the Lebanese coast and captured Tyre, Sidon, and the western part of Beirut. From 1983 to 1986, he served as the commander of the IDF's Paratroopers Brigade and led Operation Moses, which brought tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel from Sudan. In 1986, Mordechai became the head of the IDF's General Staff Operations Directorate and was promoted to the rank of Major General.

Mordechai was the only person to command all of Israel's military districts. After demobilizing from the IDF in October 1995, he pursued studies in Judaism at Bar-Ilan University and law at the Herzliya College. However, he soon interrupted his studies to actively participate in the pre-election campaign for the Likud party.

In Israeli politics, Mordechai was initially seen as a principled and honest individual, known for his toughness and fairness. Both the right-wing Likud party and the left-wing Labor Party actively courted him, believing that he would bring them electoral support. Eventually, Mordechai joined Likud and became the Minister of Defense in Benjamin Netanyahu's government in 1996. However, he later left the government due to disagreements with the Prime Minister.

In 1999, when Ehud Barak became Prime Minister, Mordechai was appointed as the Minister of Transportation and became Barak's deputy, temporarily leading the government during the Prime Minister's foreign trips. However, on May 28, 2000, Mordechai was forced to resign amidst a sex scandal. Several women, including a 23-year-old employee of the Ministry of Defense, accused him of sexual harassment.

The police investigation found evidence to support the allegations, revealing that the incidents occurred in 1992 and 1996 when Mordechai held positions of power. In July of the same year, the Knesset voted to lift Mordechai's parliamentary immunity, potentially subjecting him to a trial and up to eight years of imprisonment if found guilty.

Mordechai vehemently denied the accusations, claiming that they were part of a smear campaign against him. Nonetheless, the scandal tarnished his reputation and led to his downfall in Israeli politics.

After leaving politics, Mordechai briefly led the Center Party, "Merkaz," and engaged in a poorly executed pre-election campaign for the position of Prime Minister. However, he ultimately withdrew his candidacy and settled for the position of Minister of Transportation and Deputy Prime Minister under Barak's government.

Despite his achievements in the military, Mordechai's political career ended in controversy, overshadowed by the sex scandal that rocked Israeli politics.