Yitzhak Levy ( he, יצחק לוי, born 6 July 1947) is an Israeli

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbi and 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

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 ...

(NRP) and the Ahi faction of the National Union between 1988 and 2009. Between 1998 and 2002, he was NRP leader, and also held several ministerial portfolios.

Biography

Yitzhak Levy was born in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

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 1947, the son of Daniel-Yitzhak Levy, who later served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party. The family

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 1957. He studied at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh ( he, ישיבת כרם ביבנה, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdictio ...

and

Yeshivat Hakotel Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...

. He served as an officer in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

, achieving the rank of major. He was a member of 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 ...

Executive and World Secretariat, and Secretary-General of the National Religious Movement from 1986 to 1995. He was the Rabbi of the Bnei Akiva Talmudic College in

Kfar Maimon Kfar Maimon ( he, כְּפַר מַיְמוֹן, ''lit.'' Maimon Village) is a religious moshav in southern Israel. Located near Netivot and covering 5,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In it had a popula ...

, and was among the initiators of the establishment of the Jewish quarter in

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

, and one of the founders of the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

Elon Moreh Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls u ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Levy is married, with five children, and lives in Kfar Maimon.

Political career

He was elected to the Knesset in 1988 on the National Religious Party list. He was a member of the House Committee from 1988 to 1996, and the Labor and Social Welfare Committee from 1988 to 1992. He was also chairman the Ethics Committee and the children welfare lobby, as well as the Israel-

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Parliamentary Friendship League. Since 1988, he has been a member of the Committee on Constitution, Law, and Justice. In June 1996, he was appointed

Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

. In February 1998, after the death of

Zevulun Hammer Zevulun Hammer ( he, זבולון המר, 31 May 1936 – 20 January 1998) was an Israeli politician, minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Biography Hammer was born in Haifa during the Mandate era. He was an active member of the Bnei Akiva youth ...

, he became the leader of the NRP, and served as Minister of Education until July 1999. He also served as Minister of Religious Affairs, a position he held in rotation. In July 1999, he was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction. Following his appointment, he resigned from the Knesset in order to allow the next person on the NRP list,

Nahum Langental Nahum Langental ( he, נחום לנגנטל, born 20 January 1960) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party between 1999 and 2003. Biography Langental was born and raised in Bnei Brak ...

, to enter the Knesset. In July 2000, following the Camp David Summit, he resigned from the government. On November 2, 2000, his 28-year-old daughter, Ayelet Hashahar Levy, was killed by a Palestinian car bomb in Jerusalem. In April 2002, during

Operation Defensive Shield Operation "Defensive Shield" ( he, מִבְצָע חוֹמַת מָגֵן, ''Mivtza Homat Magen'', literally "Operation Shield Wall") was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 during the Second Intifada ...

, he resigned as leader of the NRP to make way for

Effi Eitam Efraim "Effi" (Fine) Eitam ( he, אפרים "אפי" איתם, born 25 July 1952) is an Israeli brigadier general, former commander of the 91st Division, and a politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party, he later led a breakaway ...

, and was made

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

. From September 2002 until February 2003, he served as

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

. In March 2003, he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. However, in June 2004, he and Eitam resigned in protest against the disengagement plan. He and Eitam subsequently left the NRP, and founded a new religious-Zionist party, Ahi, which joined the National Union alliance. In December 2008, Levy announced that he was retiring from politics, stating that the decision was made due to the new

Jewish Home The Jewish Home ( he, הַבַּיִת הַיְהוּדִי, HaBayit HaYehudi) is an Orthodox Jewish and religious Zionist political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet, and Tkuma in ...

party not holding traditional primary elections, but instead relying on an internet-based vote.NRP's Yitzhak Levy retiring from politics
Ynetnews, 12 March 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Yitzhak 1947 births Living people Ahi (political party) politicians Deputy Speakers of the Knesset Israeli Jews Israeli Orthodox rabbis Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) 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) Ministers of Education of Israel Ministers of Tourism of Israel Ministers of Transport of Israel Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews National Religious Party leaders People from Casablanca Rabbinic members of the Knesset