Avraham ‘Baiga’ Shochat, first mayor of Arad and Rabin’s finance minister, dies at 88
Born in Tel Aviv in 1936, civil engineer hailed as a ‘restless achiever,’ first in the newly established Negev city and later in the Knesset as a member of government
Avraham “Baiga” Shochat, a former finance minister and one of the founders of the southern Israel city of Arad, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88, with Israeli leaders hailing him a “restless achiever” who was instrumental in the development of the Negev Desert.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1936, Shochat dedicated much of his life to public service in the early years of the State of Israel. After finishing his army service, Shochat briefly became a member of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, before completing his degree in civil engineering at the Technion in Haifa.
After graduating, he worked as an engineer on a construction team responsible for the development of Arad, a new city that the government hoped to establish in the Negev Desert.
By 1967, five years after it was founded, the city of Arad boasted a population of under 4,000 people and was ready to hold its first council elections. Shochat was elected head of the council and was subsequently reelected three times, remaining in the position until 1989.
Shochat was a member of the Labor Party, then under the leadership of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, and was elected to the Knesset for the first time in 1988.
Shochat served as the chair of the Knesset economy and finance committees until he was appointed finance minister in 1992, a position he held until 1996 and then again between 1999 and 2001.
He left the Knesset after Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister in 2001, and after an unsuccessful bid to regain his seat in 2003, he retired from politics.
President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to him on Wednesday and mourned the loss of “an honest and dedicated public servant” whose expertise would be sorely missed during “one of the most challenging periods in our country’s history.”
“Baiga, who for many years walked in trust and partnership with prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, was not a man of words but rather a restless achiever,” Herzog said of the former politician, attributing much of the Negev Desert’s financial success to Shochat.
“A few weeks ago we had the privilege of celebrating the launch of his autobiographical book ‘Between Desert and Treasure’ with him, in an event where he reminded us all how much we should learn from him,” Herzog continued. “From his wisdom, directness, integrity, and the ability to be matter-of-fact and think about the common good, in partnership and with responsibility for all of Israel.”
Shochat was married to Tama Shochat, the daughter of the third prime minister of Israel Levi Eshkol, from 1959 until her death in September 2022.
He passed away at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and is survived by three children.
“We are honored and proud to be the children of a loving father, who was a true pioneer and leader,” his children said in a statement, thanking the hospital for the care their father received in his final days.
“He was a model of integrity and moral conduct, and worked tirelessly to build our country and achieve lasting peace.”
