Rafael Suissa

Rafael "Rafi" Suissa (Hebrew: רפאל "רפי" סוויסה, 5 January 1935 – 4 March 2024) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1981 and 1984, and as mayor of Mazkeret Batya on three occasions.

Born in Casablanca in Morocco in 1935, Suissa emigrated to Israel in 1950 and was amongst the founders of moshav Komemiyut.

In 1956 he moved to Mazkeret Batya and in 1965 was elected onto its local council, holding the posts of director of the labor department, secretary and treasurer.

After the formation of the Labor Party by a merger of Mapai, Rafi and Ahdut HaAvoda, Suissa became a member of its secretariat and central committee, and chaired its Judea branch.

[1] In the 1988 Knesset elections he headed a party named the Movement for Social Justice, but it won only 3,222 votes (0.1%) and failed to cross the electoral threshold.