Uriel Lynn

Uriel Lynn (; born 2 April 1935) is an attorney and the President of the Tel Aviv and Central Israel Chamber of Commerce, as well as the President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce. He previously served as a member of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), the Director of the Israeli-North American Investment Authority, the Director of State Revenue, the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and the Chairperson of the Executive Council of the Israel National Road Safety Authority. Lynn is also actively involved in matters related to Israeli business and public policy. Additionally, he formerly served as a board member of several public companies and as an arbitrator in various domestic and international arbitrations.

Biography Lynn was born Uriel Assoulin in the Old City of Jerusalem to Yehonatan Assoulin, who immigrated to Israel from Morocco, and Margalit Chazan, who was born in Israel. His maternal grandfather, Rabbi Ben-Zion Mordechai Chazan, was one of the founders and gabbai (sexton) of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and officially handed over the Old City of Jerusalem. He was also the person chosen to deliver the Old City's Jewish Quarter's instrument of surrender to Transjordanian Legion Commander and Military Governor of the Old City of Jerusalem, Abdullah Tal, on 28 May 1948, during the Israeli War of Independence.

Lynn was educated at a secular institution for army children in Bnei Brak, followed by the Meir Shfeya and Ben Shemen Youth Villages. Before his mandatory military service, he also studied at the Haifa Marine School (now known as the Israel Nautical College in Akko). At the age of 17, he enlisted in the IDF, serving in the 7th Armored Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, and was honorably discharged from mandatory service in 1954. He later participated in three wars as a member of the IDF Reserves: the Sinai War of 1956, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Lynn studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1956 to 1958, and was awarded a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree summa cum laude. He later continued his legal studies at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1961 to 1963, earning an additional Master of Laws degree.

Upon completing his studies at UC Berkeley, Lynn served as the Director of West Coast Operations for the Jewish National Fund's fundraising organization. After returning to Israel, he practiced law, initially specializing in road traffic accident cases. He later transitioned to the private business sector, serving as General Counsel and company secretary ATA Textiles Ltd., as well as a Director of the Jerusalem Jersey textile company.

Beginning of involvement in public affairs Lynn joined the Israeli Liberal Party in 1973, and was elected a member of its National Executive Body two years later. Lynn reorganized the Authority's operations, setting its primary objective as attracting American companies—particularly high-tech firms—to the Israeli market. During his tenure, National Semiconductor, for example, decided to establish a production plant in Herzliya. Additionally, Lynn played a key role in assisting Elron Electronic Industries Ltd., an Israeli high-tech company, in securing its first significant fundraising campaign. Lynn was responsible for overseeing the Ministry of Finance's Income tax, Customs, and VAT Divisions. His initiatives led to the cancellation or reduction of 11 taxes, including:

An exemption from land appreciation tax on the sale of residential apartments (provided no more than one such sale occurred within a four-year period). The cancellation of property tax for all types of structures, including residential, industrial, commercial, and service-related buildings. The elimination of estate tax. A reduction in purchase tax for durable household goods such as ovens, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, and small vehicles. A reduction in purchase taxes for raw materials and consumer goods. A reduction in employer loan taxes. A reduction in service purchase tax. A reduction in employer tax in the industrial, tourism, and agricultural sectors. The cancellation of business tax.

Additionally Lynn opposed government efforts to reinstate the travel tax, which was only reintroduced after his tenure ended.

He also unified and simplified the tax law enforcement system and expanded the use of the tax deduction at source methodology. However, after realizing that he would not secure sufficient support from his colleagues in the Liberal Party, he withdrew from the race and remained in his role as Director-General.

Activities in the Knesset Lynn was elected to the 11th Knesset as part of the Liberal wing of the Likud parliamentary group and began his tenure as a Member of Knesset in 1984. During his time in the Knesset, he served as a member of the Economic Affairs Committee and the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee. He also held leadership roles as Chair of the Road Safety Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy.

Among other legislative achievements, Lynn led the passage of the following key laws: Amendment to the Political Parties Law: Required any organization fielding candidates for the Knesset to register as a political party. It also legally defined political parties as separate legal entities, mandated the submission of party statutes, the establishment of party institutions, and compliance with oversight by the State Comptroller of Israel. Restrictions on party-switching (Kalanterism): Prevented MKs from defecting to another parliamentary faction in exchange for personal political benefits—a practice known as Kalanterism, named after Rachamim Kalanter, a Jerusalem City Council member in the 1950s who was the first to engage in such behavior. This practice became widespread during the power struggle between Likud and Labor after the 1990 government collapse, significantly eroding public trust in Israel's electoral system. Election integrity and governance amendments: Prohibited election results from being challenged in court. Prevented voters from being subjected to unfair or undue influence. Mandated that every government establish a Ministerial Committee for Security Affairs. Granted the prime minister the authority to dismiss a deputy minister. Imposed new restrictions on civil servants' involvement in political activities. Changed the vote of no-confidence procedure, requiring an absolute majority of Knesset members to dissolve the government.

These reforms strengthened political accountability and curbed instability, leaving a lasting impact on Israel's governance framework.

The Constitutional Revolution As Chairperson of the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, Lynn played a central role in passing two landmark Basic Laws:

Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation.

These laws enshrine fundamental individual rights and are considered Israel's de facto Bill of rights, both in terms of their content and constitutional significance. Their passage was largely shaped by deliberations with representatives of religious parties in the committee.

Key provisions of the Basic Laws: Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation – Guarantees the right of every individual or legal entity to engage in any profession or trade of their choice, provided it does not harm the public interest.

Following their enactment, the Israel Supreme Court declared these laws a "constitutional revolution", effectively granting itself the authority to conduct judicial reviews of Knesset legislation concerning fundamental rights.

The extent to which the Knesset intended to grant these laws supra-legal status—and whether it foresaw the Supreme Court's broad interpretation—is a matter of ongoing debate. Some MKs who voted for the laws later claimed they had been misled by the initiators, including Lynn. A more nuanced view suggests that the laws' constitutional implications were deliberately ambiguous, and that they might have faced greater opposition had their full impact been made clearer at the time. Lynn strongly contested these claims, particularly in his book The Birth of a Revolution. He dismissed them as a "mockery of the Knesset" and an outright "disregard of both facts and truth".

Presidency of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce At the end of 2002, Lynn was elected by secret ballot as President of the Tel Aviv and Central Israel Chamber of commerce and President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, Israel's largest business organization. He was re-elected to both positions four times and continues to hold them today. By virtue of his role, he also served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Bank of Israel.

Lynn expanded the Chamber's scope of activity, transforming it from the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Chamber of Commerce into the Tel Aviv and Central Israel Chamber of Commerce. In 2009, he led the Chambers of Commerce's separation from the Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations as part of a struggle against policies that, in his view, harmed employers' rights. This was in response to a "package deal" signed between the Histadrut (Israel's national trade union center), the Coordinating Office, and the Prime minister, which proposed amendments to 13 labor laws that, if passed, would have disrupted the balance between employees' rights and employers' rights in Israel.

Lynn was elected six times to the executive board of Eurochambres (the organization of European Chambers of Commerce) and three times to the executive board of the International Chamber of Commerce, which represents Chambers of Commerce from 125 countries.

Lynn's leadership allowed the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce to become the umbrella organization for Israel's trade and service sector and liberal-professional sector. In this capacity, Lynn has waged a constant struggle against what he perceived to be encumbrances imposed on Israel's business sector, including new labor laws, excessive consumer protections, and environmental protection laws that place the burden of protecting the environment on businesses. Lynn also led a battle against the labor courts, particularly the Labor Courts of Israel, for their denial of basic employer rights, such as restricting employers' freedom of expression regarding employee organization, including the establishment of unions, in their businesses. In addition, he has waged a long-term struggle against what he perceived to be excessive freedom granted to employees of state-owned monopolies to engage in strikes, which, in his view, harms the economy and the general public.

Lynn also led a Chamber initiative against the use of the term "employer of labor" (ma'avid in Hebrew), which derives from the same root (avd) as "slave" (eved) and may therefore be perceived as exploitative. He advocated for its replacement with the term "employer" (ma'asik in Hebrew), which originates from the same root (esk) as "business" (esek) and is considered more positive and equitable. Furthermore, Lynn initiated the drafting of an international bill to protect employers' fundamental rights. This draft bill was later approved at the General Assembly of the World Chamber Federation during its session in Turin, Italy, in 2015. In addition, Lynn successfully secured the passage of the first Israeli law protecting the rights of Israeli agents in their relationships with foreign suppliers.

He also led a Chamber initiative that resulted in an amendment to the Mandatory Tenders Law, allowing Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in public sector tenders. Previously, such enterprises were effectively barred from participating due to unreasonably high and unbalanced threshold conditions.

During his tenure, Lynn focused on implementing structural changes that would have a lasting impact on Israel's business sector in several key areas:

First, he led efforts to reduce corporate taxes for all businesses, lowering the rate from 36% to 25%. He advocated for the right of every business to receive state protection during times of war or pandemic, regardless of the nature of the business. He also worked to limit the right to strike in state-owned monopolies, particularly in the seaports, and sought to reduce the regulatory control exercised by the Standards Institution of Israel over imports. Additionally, Lynn fought against the automatic increase in municipal taxes and worked to ease the regulatory burden imposed on businesses. He provided long-term support for the construction of new seaports in Israel, which helped break the monopoly of the older ports. Throughout his tenure, he also waged a persistent battle against changes that he viewed as disrupting the balance between employer and employee rights.

In 2010, Lynn was appointed Chairperson of the Israel National Road Safety Authority. In this capacity, he developed a comprehensive program addressing road safety concerns, particularly for vulnerable groups such as kindergarten kids and infants, pedestrians, and young drivers. His program also tackled issues related to cellphone use while driving, truck and bus safety, urban traffic disruptions, unlicensed drivers, and habitual traffic offenders. Additionally, he initiated a motion aimed at improving cyclist welfare.

One of his key recommendations—increasing the duty of care required from drivers approaching pedestrian crossings—was incorporated into transportation regulations in 2015. He is also credited with introducing the mandatory use of seatbelts on urban roads, a regulation that has saved many lives. During the 11th Knesset (1985), Lynn submitted a bill proposing that 20% of all state revenues from vehicle purchases and use be allocated to improving road infrastructure. While the bill passed its first reading, it was ultimately blocked by the Ministry of Finance. Nevertheless, it played a crucial role in raising awareness about the urgent need to increase investments in Israel's road infrastructure.

Books Milestone: A History of Public Service in Seven Chapters (Even Derech: Shiv'ah Perakim Be'Sherut Ha'Tsibur), edited by Dan Carmely and published in Tel Aviv by Bursi Publishers in 2012: A selection of Lynn's articles as published in the Israeli press in the course of forty years of public service. Li'ad and the Ravens (Li'ad Ve'Ha'Orvim), edited by Vered Levi-Barzilay and published in Tel Aviv by Contento de Semrik in 2014. Self Defense (Haganah 'Atsmit), edited by Vered Levi-Barzilay and published in Tel Aviv by Contento de Semrik in 2015. Fond Memories of Shfeya (Zichronot Ahava Mi'Shefeya), edited by Eliraz Ner-Gaon and published in Tel Aviv by Steimatzk in 2015. The Birth of a Revolution (Leydatah Shel Mahapecha), edited by Yehudah Ye'ari and published in Tel Aviv by Yedioth Books in 2017. Life According to the Uncle from China (Ha'Chayim Al Pi Ha'Dod Mi'Sin), published in Tel Aviv by Steimatzky in 2018. How the Israeli Political System was changed 1990–2022 (Ketzad Shunta Hashita Hapolitit Be-Israel), written jointly with Shlomi Loya, published in Tel-Aviv by Teper Publishers Ltd. in 2021.

Uriel Lynn delivering a speech during a ceremony celebrating the publication of The Birth of a Revolution that was held at the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, 2017.

Prizes and awards Knight of Quality Government, awarded to Lynn by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel in 2003. The Grosse Goldene (Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria) awarded to Lynn in August 2006 by the Federal President of the Republic of Austria. Movement Luminary Decoration, awarded to Lynn by the Likud Movement in December 2013. Colledge of Education Gordon Award.