Gershon Mesika

Gershon Mesika (Hebrew: גרשון מסיקה‎‎, born 5 July 1952) an Israeli lawyer and politician. He has served as head of the Shomron Regional Council, but has been detained as a result of his role in a "massive corruption scandal", and subsequently replaced by acting head Yossi Dagan.

Born in Ashdod in Israel, Mesika is an Israeli lawyer. Since 1982, he has lived in the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh with his wife and family. He previously owned a local armored limousine service.

In November 2007, he was elected director of Shomron Regional local government. Immediately after being elected as head of the Shomron Regional Council, Mesika took on the issue of restoring Joseph's Tomb in the city of Nablus. Under Mesika direction ongoing efforts have been since the end of 2007 to renovate the site.

As a leader of the Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Mesika called on his constituents to vote right in the 2009 Knesset elections. In a letter to his constituents, Mesika wrote "It doesn't matter which nationalist camp party you vote for, the main thing is to vote!". He also called upon the residents to "get involved and help out the nationalist parties, each person according to his or her preference. The main thing is to volunteer and act in order to strengthen the nationalist camp".

He has called on Jewish families living in West Bank settlements to have more children to continue the exponential growth in the area. As an advocate for growth in the Jewish communities in the Shomron, Mesika symbolic tore up building freeze orders issued by Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak. He termed the restrictions aimed at Jewish population only as racist decree and called on the Israel government to support the growth and development of these communities.

In 2008, he appointed strategic advisor and local activist David Ha'ivri to head the Shomron Liaison Office as part of an overall effort to improve the public image of the Jewish settlements in the region. Tours for elected officials and journalists are part of this ongoing public relations effort.

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