Yitzhak Coren (1911–1994)

Yitzhak Coren (or Koren) was born to a Jewish family in Chişinău in the Russian Empire (present-day Moldova). While a university student, he became a leader of the Romanian Zionists Student Association. He served as secretary of the Tze'irei Zion socialist youth movement. He was also a member of the leadership of the Zionist Federation of Bessarabia and edited its Yiddish language newspaper. After qualifying as a lawyer, Coren emigrated in May 1940 to the British Mandate of Palestine, where he joined the Haganah. Between 1941 and 1943, he worked as director of the Department of Information and Organization of the Histadrut's Supply Center, before serving as secretary of the Moshavim Movement between 1944 and 1961. In 1949 he was one of the founders of the "From Ma'abarot to Village" settlement project. In 1959, Coren was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Mapai Party. He retained his seat in the 1961 elections, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance in 1962, serving until the government left office the following year. He lost his seat in 1965, but returned to the Knesset on the Alignment list (an alliance of the Labor Party formed by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda, Rafi, and Mapam) in 1969. He held this seat until 1973. Between 1964 and 1979, he served as secretary of the World Union of Labor Zionists. He was the author of several books, including The Jews of Kishinev (1950).