Yitzhak Vaknin ( he, יצחק וקנין; born 12 May 1958) is an Israeli politician. He 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
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 ...
between 1996 and 2019, and as
Minister of Religious Services in 2019 and 2020.
Biography
Vaknin was born into a family that had
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 ...
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 ...
in 1954. Between 1982 and 1987 he served as secretary of the
Gornot HaGalil communal settlement. In 1988 he became chairman of the committee of
Ya'ara, a position he held until 1996. Between 1988 and 1993 he also served as secretary of
Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council
The Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מעלה יוסף, ''Mo'atza Azorit Ma'aleh Yosef'') is a regional council in the Upper Galilee, part of the Northern District of Israel, situated between the towns of Ma'alot-Tarshi ...
, and from 1993 until 1996 as the head of its religious council.
He was first elected to the Knesset in
1996. He retained his seat in the
1999 elections, and was appointed Deputy
Minister of Communications on 5 August 1999, a role he held until 11 July 2000, when Shas resigned from the government. After
Ariel Sharon formed a new government, Vaknin was appointed Deputy
Minister of Labor and Social Welfare on 2 May 2001. He left the position on 20 May 2002, but returned to it on 3 June.
He retained his seat again in the
2003,
2006,
2009,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
and
2015 elections
The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015.
Africa
* 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015
* 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015
* 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015
* 2015 Burun ...
. He was appointed
Minister of Religious Services in January 2019, but did not run in the
April 2019 elections.
He is married with five children and lives in
Ya'ara.
Yitzhak Vaknin
Knesset
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaknin, Yitzhak
1958 births
Living people
Deputy ministers of Israel
Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
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)
Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)
Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)
Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019)
Shas politicians
Ministers of Religious affairs of Israel
Government ministers of Israel
Deputy Speakers of the Knesset