Baruch Abuhatzeira ( he, ברוך אבוחצירא; born 1941), also known as Baba Baruch, is a Moroccan-

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i Kabbalist rabbi and spiritual adviser who operates in

Netivot Netivot ( he, נְתִיבוֹת, "''paths''", ar, نتيڤوت) is a city in the Southern District of Israel located between Beersheba and Gaza. In , it had a population of . History Netivot was founded in 1956 and named after the bible: " ...

, a blue-collar town in southern Israel. He is the son of the leading Moroccan rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, also known as the

Baba Sali Israel Abuhatzeira ( he, ר׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַבּוּחַצִירָא), known as the Baba Sali ( ar, بابا صلى, he, בַּאבָּא סָאלִי, lit. "Praying Father") (1889–1984) was a leading Moroccan Sephardic rabbi and ka ...

,The Shaping of Israeli Identity: Myth, Memory and Trauma. Robert Wistrich, David Ohana (ed.) p. 224-226 and thus scion of the Abu Hasira/Abuhatzeira family. Baruch was born in

Arfoud Erfoud ( ber, ⴰⵔⴼⵓⴷ, Latn, ber, Arfud; ar, أرفود) is an oasis town in the Sahara Desert, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region, eastern Morocco. It is divided into several districts: Hay Salam, Hay Jdid, Hay Ziz, Hay el Bathaa, Hay Annah ...

in the

Tafilalt Tafilalt or Tafilet (; ar, تافيلالت), historically Sijilmasa, is a region and the largest oasis in Morocco. Etymology The word "Tafilalt" is an Amazigh word and it means "Jug", which is specifically a pottery jar used to store water. H ...

region in eastern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. There, he was educated by his father. During his youth Baruch spent several years in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In the mid-1960s, Baruch emigrated to Israel with his father, and he decided to pursue a political career. He was elected deputy mayor in

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...

, and served on the city council as the leader of the local

MAFDAL The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

(National-Religious Party) faction. In this position, Abuhatzeira was convicted for taking bribes and served a five year sentence in

Maasiyahu prison Maasiyahu Prison is a minimum-security prison in Ramle, Israel, run by the Israel Prison Service. History Prisoners who have proven responsible have access to various places of employment and education programs, the right to take vacations from pr ...

. After his release, Abuhatzeira joined his father Baba Sali, and was with him during the last three months of the Rabbi's life. During the

shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

(week of mourning) on the death of the Baba Sali, Abuhatzeira donned his father's robe and announced himself as the Baba Sali's heir. Subsequently, however, the daily newspaper

Hadashot ''Hadashot'' (, lit. ''News'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Israel between 1984 and 1993. History On 4 March 1984 Haaretz Group CEO Amos Schocken announced that a new daily newspaper, ''Hadashot'' was to be launched, with ...

published Abuhatzeira's letters to a woman who was not his wife, which he had written during his stint in prison. Abuhatzeira sued to prevent publication of the letters, but was denied, in part on the basis that the community he desired to lead had a legitimate interest in knowing his character. Abuhatzeira is the arch-rival of another Netivot mystic, Yaakov Israel Ifargan. In 2010, Netivot's city comptroller, Shimon Alon, allegedly at Abuhatzeira's behest, was arrested on suspicion of paying a young woman to seduce Ifargan and photograph him in intimate positions, with the aim of tarnishing his image.Netivot official said to have sent seductress to 'X-ray rabbi'
Tomer Zarchin. Aug. 27, 2010

References

1941 births Living people 20th-century Israeli rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis Deputy mayors of places in Israel Israeli people convicted of bribery Israeli politicians convicted of corruption Israeli prisoners and detainees Kabbalists Moroccan emigrants to Israel People from Ashkelon People from Erfoud Prisoners and detainees of Israel Sephardic Haredi rabbis in Israel Rabbis convicted of crimes {{Morocco-rabbi-stub