Peretz Bernstein

Peretz Bernstein (; 12 June 1890 – 21 March 1971) was a Zionist activist and German-born Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.

Biography Bernstein was born Shlomo Fritz Bernstein in Meiningen in the German Empire. He moved to the Netherlands before World War I, where he worked in the grain trade. Bernstein also stood as a candidate in the Knesset's election for president in 1952, but withdrew after the second round of voting, having come a distant second to eventual winner Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.

Bernstein returned to the Knesset following the elections of 1955 and 1959, but did not regain his cabinet position. In 1961 the General Zionists merged with the Progressive Party to form the Liberal Party and Bernstein was elected one of its two presidents. He was re-elected to the Knesset later that year and oversaw the alliance with Menachem Begin's Herut to form Gahal. In 1963, he ran again for president, but lost by 67–33 to Zalman Shazar. Bernstein lost his seat in the 1965 elections and died in 1971.