Natan Sharansky and Sharansky was appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs. From March 2003 – May 2005, he was Israel's Minister without Portfolio, responsible for Jerusalem, social and Jewish diaspora affairs. Under this position Sharansky chaired a secret committee that approved the confiscation of East Jerusalem property of West Bank Palestinians. This decision was reversed after an outcry from the Israeli left and the international community. Previously he served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Minister of Housing and Construction since March 2001, Interior Minister of Israel (July 1999 – resigned in July 2000), Minister of Industry and Trade (1996–1999). He resigned
Natan Shalem Natan Shalem Natan Shalem (October 10, 1897 - 1959) was an Israeli geographer, geologist and researcher. Shalem was born in Thessaloniki to a traditional Jewish family. Growing up Shalem studied in various Jewish educational institutes. In 1914 Shalem immigrated to Ottoman Palestine. During the First World War Shalem began to teach in the moshava Sejera. In 1919 Shalem went to study geology in Florence where he obtained his doctorate in 1924. After getting his doctorate Shalem returned to Palestine and settled in Jerusalem, where he worked as a teacher for geography, chemistry and physics at the Gymnasia Rehavia. Within this