Yitzhak Levy ( he, יצחק לוי, born 6 July 1947) is an Israeli
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
rabbi and politician who served as a 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 ...
for the
National Religious Party
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 ...
(NRP) and the
Ahi faction of the
National Union between 1988 and 2009. Between 1998 and 2002, he was NRP leader, and also held several ministerial portfolios.
Biography
Yitzhak Levy was born in
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
in
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 ...
in 1947, the son of
Daniel-Yitzhak Levy, who later served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party. The family
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to Israel in 1957. He studied at
Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh ( he, ישיבת כרם ביבנה, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdict ...
and
Yeshivat Hakotel
Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...
. He served as an officer in the
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 ...
, achieving the rank of major. He was a member of the
Bnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929.
History
B ...
Executive and World Secretariat, and Secretary-General of the National Religious Movement from 1986 to 1995.
He was the Rabbi of the Bnei Akiva Talmudic College in
Kfar Maimon
Kfar Maimon ( he, כְּפַר מַיְמוֹן, ''lit.'' Maimon Village) is a religious moshav in southern Israel. Located near Netivot and covering 5,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In it had a popula ...
, and was among the initiators of the establishment of the
Jewish quarter in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and one of the founders of the
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
of
Elon Moreh
Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls u ...
in the
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
.
Levy is married, with five children, and lives in Kfar Maimon.
[
]
Political career
He was elected to the Knesset in 1988 on the National Religious Party list. He was a member of the House Committee from 1988 to 1996, and the Labor and Social Welfare Committee from 1988 to 1992. He was also chairman the Ethics Committee and the children welfare lobby, as well as the Israel-Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
Parliamentary Friendship League. Since 1988, he has been a member of the Committee on Constitution, Law, and Justice.[
In June 1996, he was appointed ]Minister of Transportation
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
by Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
. In February 1998, after the death of Zevulun Hammer
Zevulun Hammer ( he, זבולון המר, 31 May 1936 – 20 January 1998) was an Israeli politician, minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Biography
Hammer was born in Haifa during the Mandate era. He was an active member of the Bnei Akiva youth ...
, he became the leader of the NRP, and served as Minister of Education until July 1999. He also served as Minister of Religious Affairs, a position he held in rotation.[
In July 1999, he was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction.][ Following his appointment, he resigned from the Knesset in order to allow the next person on the NRP list, ]Nahum Langental
Nahum Langental ( he, נחום לנגנטל, born 20 January 1960) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party between 1999 and 2003.
Biography
Langental was born and raised in Bnei Brak ...
, to enter the Knesset. In July 2000, following the Camp David Summit, he resigned from the government.
On November 2, 2000, his 28-year-old daughter, Ayelet Hashahar Levy, was killed by a Palestinian car bomb in Jerusalem.
In April 2002, during Operation Defensive Shield, he resigned as leader of the NRP to make way for Effi Eitam
Efraim "Effi" (Fine) Eitam ( he, אפרים "אפי" איתם, born 25 July 1952) is an Israeli brigadier general, former commander of the 91st Division, and a politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party, he later led a breakaway ...
, and was made Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
. From September 2002 until February 2003, he served as Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture.
The position exists in many different countries under several names:
*Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania)
* Minist ...
. In March 2003, he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. However, in June 2004, he and Eitam resigned in protest against the disengagement plan.[ He and Eitam subsequently left the NRP, and founded a new religious-Zionist party, Ahi, which joined the National Union alliance.
In December 2008, Levy announced that he was retiring from politics, stating that the decision was made due to the new ]Jewish Home
The Jewish Home ( he, הַבַּיִת הַיְהוּדִי, HaBayit HaYehudi) is an Orthodox Jewish and religious Zionist political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet, and Tkuma in ...
party not holding traditional primary elections, but instead relying on an internet-based vote.NRP's Yitzhak Levy retiring from politics
Ynetnews, 12 March 2008
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Yitzhak
1947 births
Living people
Ahi (political party) politicians
Deputy Speakers of the Knesset
Israeli Jews
Israeli Orthodox rabbis
Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
Jewish Israeli politicians
Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)
Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)
Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)
Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003)
Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006)
Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)
Ministers of Education of Israel
Ministers of Tourism of Israel
Ministers of Transport of Israel
Moroccan emigrants to Israel
20th-century Moroccan Jews
National Religious Party leaders
People from Casablanca
Rabbinic members of the Knesset