Yosef Ba-Gad ( he, יוסף בא-גד, born 10 February 1932) is an Israeli former

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

and politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1992 and 1996.

Biography

Ba-Gad was born in the

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

neighbourhood of

Motza Motza, also Mozah or Motsa, ( he, מוֹצָא, ar, موتسا) is a neighbourhood on the western edge of West Jerusalem. It is located in the Judean Hills, 600 metres above sea level, connected to Jerusalem by the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway ...

during the Mandate era. He attended Yeshivat Hebron and gained an MA from

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

, before working as head of a yeshiva. In 1955 he established 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 ...

-affiliated Nehalim yeshiva. He also served as director of the Center for Religious Education and was a member of the Council for Religious Education. In

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the

Moledet Moledet ( he, מולדת, ''Homeland'') was a minor right-wing political party in Israel. History Moledet was established by Rehavam Ze'evi in 1988. It won two seats in the Knesset elections later that year, taken by Ze'evi and Yair Sprinzak. ...

list. However, on 12 March 1996 he left the party to sit as an independent. He established a new party named Moreshet Avot (Heritage of the Fathers), and planned to run in the 1996 elections, though the party pulled out and Ba-Gad lost his seat. He had also planned to run in the election for Prime Minister, but failed to gather the 50,000 signatures necessary. Ba-Gad decided to run again in the

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

, but was disqualified by the

Central Elections Committee The Israeli Central Elections Committee ( he, ועדת הבחירות המרכזית, ''Va'adet HaBehirot HaMerkazit'') is the body charged under the Knesset Elections Law of 1969 to carry out the elections for the upcoming Knesset. The committe ...

after it was discovered that at least one-third of the 61,000 signatures he submitted were suspected to be fraudulent. Moreshet Avot remained on the ballot for the Knesset elections, but won only 1,164 votes, the lowest of any party, after Ba-Gad called on his supporters to vote 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 ...

. In 2005 he was indicted on charges of aggravated forgery, conspiracy to committing a crime, suborning perjury and attempted fraud, all relating to his 1999 election campaign, in which he allegedly offered businessman Meir Manor

NIS Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to: Places * Niš, a city in Serbia * Nis, Iran, a village * Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands Businesses and organizations * Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...

100,000 to fraudulently collect 30,000 signatures. He was eventually convicted as part of plea bargain in 2007 and sentenced to six months in prison.

Family

Ba-Gad's granddaughter,

Rinat Gutman Rinat Gutman (Hebrew: ) (born 1980) is an Israeli Orthodox Jewish rapper, singer, and songwriter. One of the first religious female rappers in Israel, she has also performed in the United States, England, and India, and has appeared with artists ...

, is a professional rapper and singer in Israel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ba-Gad, Yosef 1932 births Living people Bar-Ilan University alumni Israeli educators Israeli politicians convicted of fraud Jewish Israeli politicians Jews in Mandatory Palestine Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Moledet politicians People from Jerusalem Rabbis convicted of crimes