David Azulai ( he, דוד אזולאי; 5 May 1954 – 30 October 2018) was an Israeli 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

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 ...

for over 20 years from 1996 and 2018. He was also Minister of Religious Services from 2015 until his death in 2018.

Biography

David Azulai was born in

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

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 ...

, and

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 1963. From 1973 to 1993, he worked as a teacher and vice principal.

Political career

From 1978 to 1993, he was a member of Acre's local council and served in the municipality's committees. In 1993, he was elected to Nahal Iron Regional Council, serving as deputy mayor of the council and later as its mayor. He resigned following his

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to the Knesset in 1996. He served as Chairman of the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee (2000–2001) and as Deputy

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

(2001–2003). In the latter post, he was assigned to head of commission regarding the status of the

Falasha The Beta Israel ( he, בֵּיתֶא יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Bēteʾ Yīsrāʾēl''; gez, ቤተ እስራኤል, , modern ''Bēte 'Isrā'ēl'', EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "House of Israel" or "Community of Israel"), also known as Ethiopian Jews ...

. Following the

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 the new government. He gave up his Knesset seat in March 2018 under the Norwegian Law due to an illness, and was replaced by his son Yinon.Religious Affairs Minister Azoulay dies after battle with cancer
The Times of Israel, 30 October 2018

Controversy

In a meeting with MK

Ayelet Shaked Ayelet Shaked (; he, אַיֶּילֶת שָׁקֵד; born 7 May 1976) is an Israeli politician, activist, and software engineer currently serving as Minister of Interior. She served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home from 2013 to ...

about

Women of the Wall Women of the Wall (Hebrew: נשות הכותל, ''Neshot HaKotel'') is a multi-denominational Jewish feminist organization based in Israel whose goal is to secure the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall, also called the Kotel, in a fashi ...

, an Israeli group fighting for the right of Jewish women to pray at the Kotel in their fashion, Azulai referred to them as "provocateurs", and claimed that

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

is "a disaster for the nation of Israel". Women of the Wall then voiced a protest: "We expect Ayelet Shaked, like her predecessor, to announce unequivocally that as a woman and a justice minister, she will not sign discriminatory regulations, and will not be a part of exclusion of women from the Western Wall or from any other place. The court has already ruled that these regulations are discriminatory and illegal." Azulai's comments were also condemned by Rabbi

Gilad Kariv Gilad Kariv ( he, גִּלְעָד קָרִיב, born 30 November 1973) is an Israeli Reform rabbi, attorney and politician. The Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, he is currently a member of the Kne ...

, executive director of the Reform movement in Israel, who noted, "If Minister Azoulay cannot function as minister for all the citizens of Israel, then he should resign." A month later, in July 2015, Azulai stated “The moment a Reform Jew stops following the religion of Israel... I cannot allow myself to call such a person a Jew.”

Death

On 30 October 2018, Azulai died after a long-term battle with cancer.David Azoulay, Israel's Religious Services Minister, Dies at 64
Haaretz, 30 October 2018 The illness had also forced him to resign from the Knesset early in the year. His son Yinon, who succeeded him in Knesset, is among those rumored to be candidates to take Azulai's place as the Israeli Religious Affairs Minister.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azulai, David 1954 births 2018 deaths Deputy ministers of Israel Ministers of Religious affairs of Israel Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli schoolteachers Deaths from cancer in Israel Mayors of regional councils in Israel 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) Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from Acre, Israel People from Meknes Shas politicians