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Nissim Mordechai Ze'ev (; born 9 September 1951) is an Israeli
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
. One of the founders of
Shas Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...
, he served as Deputy Mayor of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
between 1983 and 1998, and as a member of
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
from 1999 until 2015.


Biography

Ze'ev was born and resides in Jerusalem. He is married, and has a large family. He is a graduate of
Porat Yosef Yeshiva Porat Yosef Yeshiva () is a Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood. The name Porat Yosef means "Joseph is a fruitful tree" after the biblical verse Genesis 49:22. History Yeshivat Ohel ...
, and was ordained to the Rabbinate. He has served 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 t ...
, Shochet,
Mohel A ( , Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , , "circumciser") is a Jewish man trained in the practice of , the "covenant of male circumcision". A woman who is trained in the practice is referred to as a ''mohelet'' (plural: ''mo ...
, and
Chazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...
in Israel and abroad. He began his
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
activities in his youth when, in 1968, he established Torah youth clubs named "Irgun Yeladim Lomdei Torah" (''Association of Children Who Study Torah''). They were established in memory of the IDF soldiers who died when the
INS INS or Ins may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS * INS Park, an entertainment complex in China Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flie ...
Eilat was lost in 1967. Hundreds of students participated in this club in the afternoon studying "Ta'amei Hamikra" (Torah incantations), Psalms, Jewish Law, and Jewish Legend. In 1971, Ze'ev served as a rabbi and shochet in the Ein HaEmek
moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...
. Three years later, he was sent abroad as a shochet and inspector on behalf of the
Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the ...
. He would ultimately spend five years away from Israel, going to
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
in 1977, to help establish the Aram Tzova
Kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...
, then to the "
Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
Jewish Center" in Brooklyn, New York, where he served as rabbi and chazzan. In 1979, he returned to Israel to establish the "Nevat Israel" Institutes for Sephardic Jewish girls - ranging from kindergarten, to elementary schools, to high schools, and to a teaching seminary to train teachers and kindergarten teachers.


Political career

In the summer of 1983, he established a non-profit organization called the "Sephardic Association of Torah Observers", and served as its chairman. In addition to educational, cultural, and charitable activities, the association was involved in the selection of representatives to appear as a political list for the elections for local municipalities and the Knesset. The first meeting of the association convened shortly thereafter in the Yesodei Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Participants included the president of the Torah Elders Council,
Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...
Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...
, as well as Rabbi Shalom Cohen, Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka (Head of the Porat Yoseph Yeshiva), and Rabbi Shabtai Aton. With their blessings, the Shas party ran for the first time for the local elections in Jerusalem, with Ze'ev at its head, and succeeded in winning three seats. Between 1983 and 1998, Ze'ev served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem in charge of the Welfare Department, as well as chairman of the Allotments of Land for Public Institutes and chairman of the Exemption Committee for Arnona. He was a candidate in the 1993 Jerusalem mayoral election, but finished third with only 5% of the vote. In
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, Ze'ev was elected to the Knesset on the Shas list, and was re-elected in
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
,
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
,
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, and
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
. During his time in the Knesset, he served as a member of the Knesset Committee, the
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee () is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the ...
, the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, and the Committee on Interior Affairs. In the 17th Knesset (2006–2009), he served as chairman of the Knesset Committee on the War Against Drugs and Alcohol, coordinating with all the relevant agencies and holding many meetings which led to a body of legislation to fight drug and alcohol abuse. He was not included in the Shas list for the
2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...
after being removed from the list by Shas leader
Aryeh Deri Aryeh Makhlouf Deri (; ), also Arie Deri, Arye Deri, or Arieh Deri (born 17 February 1959), is an Israeli politician and one of the founders of the Shas political party who served as the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Health, and Minister ...
.Shas founder MK Nissim Ze'ev: Rabbi Ovadia Yosef didn't want Deri, period
The Jerusalem Post, 26 February 2015


Views

Ze'ev is known for his strong opposition to the evacuation of Jews from
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s. To advance this cause, he established the Knesset Caucus for Israel, Judaism, and Global Ethics, and presented legislative proposals to prevent the evacuation of settlers against their will. Among the other laws initiated by him are the Law to Increase Child Allotments, the Law to Punish Terrorists, the Abortion Law, the Incitement Law, and the Law to Recognize the Rights of Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands. In June 2007, he compared homosexuals to drug addicts, and suggested that rehabilitation centers be set up for them throughout Israel, saying: "The government should initiate this; these people are unfortunate, and we must keep an eye on them to assist them... I am not speaking of a closed institution, but of a center that will accept anyone who walks through its doors... We must set up special teams of psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers who will help them return to a normal life, just like in a drug rehabilitation center." He also claimed that gay people must be made aware of "how their lifestyle is destroying our existence", and that MKs "propose numerous bills to help barren women become more fertile, but on the other hand, we allow this immorality".Shas MK proposes 'rehab centers' for gays
Ynetnews, 21 June 2007


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ze'ev, Nissim 1951 births Living people Deputy mayors of Jerusalem Israeli Orthodox Jews 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) Mohalim Politicians from Jerusalem Shas leaders City councillors of Jerusalem