Yosef Vanunu ( he, יוסף ונונו, born 7 August 1945) is an Israeli economist and former 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 Labor Party from 1992 until 1996.

Biography

Born in

El Kelaa des Sraghna Kalaat Sraghna ( Berber: ⵇⵍⵄⵜ ⵙⵔⴰⵖⵏⵙ, ar, قلعة السراغنة, qalʿat as-sarāḡina, sometimes spelled El Kelaa des Srarhna) is a town in central Morocco. The economy of the town is mostly based on agriculture, the gro ...

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 1945, Vanunu's father was a prominent rabbi. He 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 in 1955 and initially lived in moshav

Gefen Gefen ( he, גֶּפֶן, lit. ''Grapevine'') is a moshav in central Israel. Located between Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village w ...

, before moving to

Kiryat Malakhi Kiryat Malakhi ( he, קִרְיַת מַלְאָכִי, also Qiryat Malakhi or Kiryat Malachi) is a city in the Southern District of Israel, from Ashkelon. In it had a population of . Its jurisdiction is 4,632 dunams (~4.6 km2). Histor ...

in 1957, where his father built the town's first synagogue. He studied for a BA in economics and agriculture at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, before receiving a PhD in economics 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 ...

. He worked as an economist and was a member of the

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

council. He was elected mayor of Kiryat Malakhi local council in 1981 on the

Herut Herut ( he, חֵרוּת, ''Freedom'') was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. History Herut was founded by Menachem Begin ...

list, and was re-elected twice, the second time as an independent.Kiryat Malachi
Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 4 September 1991. He also chaired the audit committee of the Local Government Centre. He later switched to the Labor Party, becoming a member of its central committee and comptroller unit. He was elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list 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 ...

, but lost his seat in the 1996 elections. On 6 July 1997 he was convicted at

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

magistrates court of bribery, fraud and breach of trust relating to acts committed in 1989 whilst mayor of Kiryat Malakhi. He was sentenced to twelve months in prison, although six months was suspended and the other served as community service, and was also fined 40,000 shekels. His appeal to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

was turned down.Appeal
Supreme Court of Israel

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanunu, Yosef 1945 births Living people Bar-Ilan University alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Herut politicians Israeli economists Israeli government officials convicted of crimes Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli people convicted of bribery Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Israeli politicians convicted of corruption Israeli politicians convicted of fraud Israeli trade unionists Jewish Israeli politicians Mayors of places in Israel People from Kiryat Malakhi Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from El Kelaa des Sraghna Israeli politicians convicted of crimes

Biography

See also

References

External links