Shlomo Yosef Burg ( he, שלמה יוסף בורג, 31 January 1909 – 15 October 1999) was a German-born

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. In 1949, he was elected to the first

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 ...

, and served in many ministerial positions for the next 40 years. He was one of the founders of the National Religious Party.

Biography

Shlomo Yosef Burg was born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, on 31 January 1909. He attended the

Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (officially in german: Rabbinerseminar für das orthodoxe Judenthum in Berlin until 1880, thereafter ''Rabbiner-Seminar zu Berlin''; in , ''Bet ha-midrash le-Rabanim be-Berlin'') was founded in Berlin on 22 Octo ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

from 1928 to 1938, and was ordained as a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

that year. He also studied at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

from 1928 to 1931, and received a Doctorate in mathematics and logic from the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in 1933. While studying at the University of Leipzig, he joined the Young Mizrahi religious Zionist movement. He arranged Jewish prayer services in private homes after German synagogues were burned, and worked underground to help Jews escape to Britain and the Netherlands. His mother and grandmother died in Nazi concentration camps. In 1939, he

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 ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

begun, Burg was stuck in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. He returned thanks to the help of Polish diplomat of Ładoś Group who provided him with a Polish passport. He worked as teacher at the

Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium ( he, הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, ''HaGymnasia HaIvrit Herzliya'', Also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High Scho ...

- where he taught religion wearing a kippa, which he would remove when teaching history - before moving to

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

. There he became a research fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Burg lived in the

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with German-Jewish culture and ...

neighborhood of Jerusalem. Burg was married to Rivka Slonim, who was born in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

and survived the 1929 Hebron massacre. They had a son, Avraham, a politician who served as speaker of the fifteenth Knesset, and two daughters, Ada, a doctor and Zvia. Burg died on 15 October 1999 at the age of 90 at the Sha'arei Tzedek Medical Center.

Political career

In Palestine, Burg joined Hapoel HaMizrachi, a religious-Zionist party. Alongside three other religious parties, Hapoel HaMizrachi ran on a joint list called the

United Religious Front The United Religious Front (, ''Hazit Datit Meuhedet'') was a political alliance of the four major religious parties in Israel, as well as the Union of Religious Independents, formed to fight in the 1949 elections. History The idea of a united r ...

for the first Knesset elections in 1949. The group won 16 seats and Burg took a seat in the Knesset, becoming deputy speaker. In the 1951 elections the party ran by itself, winning eight seats. Burg remained in the Knesset and became

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 ...

in the third government. In the fourth, fifth and sixth governments he served as minister of postal services, a position he retained until 1958. In 1956 Hapoel HaMizrachi merged with their ideological twins from the Mizrachi party to form the National Religious Party (NRP). The party was a member of all governments until 1992. In 1977, he became the president of the World Mizrachi Movement. As a key party member, Burg maintained a ministerial position in every Knesset until his resignation from the Knesset and retirement from politics in 1986, holding the positions of minister of welfare, minister of internal affairs, minister without portfolio and minister of religious affairs. Burg was famous for his erudite wit. Journalists dubbed his appearances in parliament "Burgtheater," after the famous playhouse in Vienna.

Legacy

According to Shimon Peres, Burg's most important legacy was trying to bridge the gulf between religious and secular Jews: "He was a religious man but he believed in compromise." Ehud Barak said Burg took the path of moderation and tolerance, and showed a love for Jewish tradition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burg, Yosef 1909 births 1999 deaths Deputy Speakers of the Knesset Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine German Orthodox rabbis Hapoel HaMizrachi politicians Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Israeli Orthodox rabbis Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Ministers of Health of Israel Ministers of Internal Affairs of Israel National Religious Party leaders Clergy from Dresden Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis United Religious Front politicians Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary alumni Rabbinic members of the Knesset