Rabbi Haim (Emile) Amsalem (; born 12 October 1959) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
. Following a rift between him and his former party
Shas
Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
, he established the
Am Shalem party to run for the
2013 Knesset elections, but failed to win any seats.
Biography
Amsalem was born in
Oran,
French Algeria, to David and Freha Amsalem, who immigrated to there from
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 t ...
. When he was six months old, his family moved to
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, where he grew up until the age of 11. In 1970, the family immigrated to
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 ...
. He graduated from the
Kisse Rahamim yeshivah
Kisse Rahamim yeshivah is an Orthodox yeshivah in Bnei Brak, Israel, which perpetuates the traditions of the Tunisian Jews
The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Punic era. The Jewish ...
where was ordained as rabbi in 1980, and served as a Head of Yeshiva ("RAM"). In 1990, he obtained certification as a rabbinical legal representative ("to'en rabbani"), and in 1993, he was ordained a City rabbi by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthod ...
.
In 1982, he married Hannah, the granddaughter of Rabbi Nissim Cohen, Av Beit Din in
Djerba
Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 ...
, Tunisia. After his marriage, he served as rabbi of the
Sharsheret moshav for seven years. He has also served also as a neighborhood rabbi 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: " ...
, as Head of Yeshiva of "Ohalei Yaakov ve Tifereth Israel" and as Head of the
kollel
A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...
"
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 ...
" in the city. From there, he moved to the
Har Nof
Har Nof ( he, הר נוף, lit. ''scenic mountain'') is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem with a population of 20,000 residents, primarily Orthodox Jews.
History
In Talmudic times, Har Nof was an agricultural settl ...
neighborhood of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and established there the "Shirei David"
Kollel
A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...
in the name of his father. He was later appointed as rabbi of the Sephardic Jewish community, "Heichal Haness" in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
,
Switzerland, a position he held until his entry into the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
.
A founding member of
Shas
Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
, Amsalem was first elected to the Knesset in
2006, and was re-elected in
2009. After breaking away from Shas, he founded his own party, Am Shalem. In the
2013 elections
The following elections were occurred in the year 2013.
Asia
* 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013
* 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013
* 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...
, the new party failed to cross the electoral threshold of 2%, and Amsalem subsequently lost his Knesset seat. On 15 September 2014, the Yeshiva World News website reported that Amsalem would be running in the upcoming elections for the post of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.
Amsalem has written books in a variety of religious topics, and has published religious articles and Torah research papers in the religious publications "Ohr Torah", "Ohr Israel", "Beit Hillel", and more. He specialized in deciphering manuscripts and published writings of famous Sephardic scholars, including the "P'nei Moshe" by Rabbi Moshe Kalfon HaCohen and "Ya'amod Pinchas" by Rabbi Pinchas Abitbol. He lives in
Har Nof
Har Nof ( he, הר נוף, lit. ''scenic mountain'') is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem with a population of 20,000 residents, primarily Orthodox Jews.
History
In Talmudic times, Har Nof was an agricultural settl ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and is married, with eight children.
In February 2019, Amsalem joined the
Zehut
Zehut () was a right-libertarian and nationalist political party in Israel founded in 2015 by Moshe Feiglin. Its platform was centered around promoting individual liberty, including economic freedom, and annexing the West Bank. The party also a ...
party and was offered the #2 spot on the list.
Conversions
One of Amsalem's focuses has been in
conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...
, and making the conversion process less stressful for the convert. He was one of the founding rabbis of Giyur keHalacha, and together with his protégé Rabbi
Chuck Davidson, he has founded Ahavat HaGer, an organisation that aims to ensure that converts can go through the conversion process with a minimum of fuss. He called for an "independent conversion court system that will be run according to halacha, not politics".
He is an advocate for significant leniency when dealing with the case of a halachically non-Jewish child with a Jewish parent. He was even more lenient in the case of an
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
soldier, with Amsalem considering the army service itself to be the 'acceptance of the mitzvot', a key component in the conversion process. He was savaged for this stance in the
Hareidi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
press, and was called "worse than the "Conservatives" and that his views were "baseless and ridiculous".
Amsalem's is alone in his stance on the "acceptance of the mitzvot", and most of the rabbis of
Tzohar do not accept this stance. In spite of his stance as a rebel, Amsalem is relying on past Torah scholars, including Rav
Bentzion Uziel, and he is well versed in the Jewish sources and has penned his own book, ''Zera Yisrael'', which is an exhaustive summary of the sources connected to conversion, and shows his mastery of the topic. Defenders of Amsalem say that there is an ideal in the Haredi world to not be controversial and to follow the group think, and that this has only entered the religious sphere recently.
He has also attacked the
Israeli Chief Rabbinate
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate C ...
, as well as some other Beth Dins around the world, such as the
London Beth Din
The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as ''Court of the Chief Rabbi'', it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashken ...
and the
Melbourne Beth Din
The Melbourne Beth Din (MBD) is an Orthodox / Chassidic Jewish court in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Located in Caulfield North, Victoria, it rules mostly on divorces and conversions although it does rule on other matters as well.
Histor ...
, for retrospectively cancelling conversions. Based on the Halacha, Amsalem argues that there is no basis for doing such a thing, and it is unprecedented in Jewish history. The only way this could happen is because of political considerations.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amsalem, Haim
1959 births
Living people
People from Oran
Algerian Jews
Israeli Orthodox rabbis
Sephardic Haredi rabbis in Israel
Shas politicians
Algerian emigrants to Israel
Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
20th-century Israeli rabbis
21st-century Israeli rabbis
Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)
Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)
Rabbinic members of the Knesset