Meir David Loewenstein

Meir David Loewenstein
Date of birth	1904
Place of birth	Copenhagen, Denmark
Year of aliyah	1934
Date of death	15 August 1995
Place of death	Bnei Brak, Israel
Knessets	1
Faction represented in Knesset
1949–1951	United Religious Front

Meir David Loewenstein (Hebrew: מאיר-דוד לוונשטיין‎, also spelt Levenstein or Levinstein, 1904 – 15 August 1995) was an Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.

Born in Copenhagen in Denmark in 1904, Loewenstein studied at a business school in Switzerland and a rabbinical seminary in Amsterdam, Netherlands. During his youth he became involved in the European Agudat Yisrael youth movement, of which he later became chair.

After immigrating to Mandatory Palestine in 1934, he remained active in Agudat Yisrael. As a prominent member of the organisation, Loewenstein became a member of Moetzet HaAm (later the Provisional State Council), and signed Israel's declaration of independence in 1948. However, he later claimed:

He was elected to the Knesset in the country's first elections in 1949 as a member of the United Religious Front, an alliance of the four major religious parties. However, he lost his seat in the 1951 elections.

Loewenstein rejected the idea of a constitution for Israel, stating that:

In 1972, Loewenstein became chairman of the Committee for Spiritual Salvation. He died in 1995.

...
Wikipedia