Ya'akov Ben-Yezri ( he, יעקב בן-יזרי, 1 October 1927– 17 February 2018) was 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 politician. He served as a

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 ...

member on behalf of Gil and as the country's

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

between 2006 and 2009.

Biography

Ben-Yezri was born on 1 October 1927 in

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

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 ...

. He was made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

to Israel on 30 November 1949. In 1955, he was elected to

Pardes Hana Pardes Hanna-Karkur ( he, פַּרְדֵּס חַנָּה-כַּרְכּוּר) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. In it had a population of . History An Arab village named Karkur had stood at this location by the time the Palestine Ex ...

local council, serving until 1963. In 1958, he became a clerk at

Clalit Clalit, ( he, שירותי בריאות כללית, General Health Services; previously – , General Sick Fund), is the largest of Israel's four state-mandated health service organizations, charged with administering health care services and fund ...

health services, a job he worked in until 1993. He also served as a regional director for the company between 1974 and 1993. He is also a former national chairman of the Health Funds' Workers Organization and chairman of the Health Funds' Pensioners Organization. He was voted into the 17th Knesset in the 2006 elections, and was subsequently appointed Minister of Health in

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

's government. Ben-Yezri, a confessed smoker, later caused controversy when he lit up whilst being interviewed on television.Ben-Yizri lights up on TV
Tobacco News, 8 May 2006 He was placed fourth on the Gil list for the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

, but the party failed to cross the electoral threshold, and he lost his seat.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Yezri, Yaakov 1927 births 2018 deaths People from Fez, Morocco 20th-century Moroccan Jews Moroccan emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Dor (political party) politicians Ministers of Health of Israel