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Rafael Pinhasi ( he, רפאל פנחסי, born 1940) is a former
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 who served as
Minister of Communications between 1990 and 1992.
Early life
Born in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...
in Afghanistan, Pinhasi's family made
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...
in 1950. He was amongst the founders of
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 ...
, and served as deputy mayor of
Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.7 ...
.
Knesset career
In 1984, he was elected to 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 (wit ...
on Shas's list, and in December 1985, he was appointed Deputy
Minister of Labor and Social Welfare. He retained his seat in the
1988 elections, and became a Deputy
Speaker of the Knesset
The Speaker of the Knesset ( he, יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הכנסת, Yoshev Rosh HaKnesset, Chairman of the Knesset) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel whe ...
. In January 1990, he was appointed Deputy
Internal Affairs Minister, and in June that year, he became Minister of Communications, serving until the
1992 elections.
As communications minister, he was criticized for granting operating licenses to communications entities owned by his associates. However, he was also credited with opening the telephone market, previously dominated by
Bezeq
Bezeq ( he, בזק) is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes).
History
Bezeq was foun ...
, to competition. Pinhasi granted new licenses for last-mile infrastructure, international calling, satellite communications, etc.
He retained his seat in the election, and was appointed Deputy
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
in August, holding the post until he became Deputy
Minister of Religious Affairs. He was forced to resign from the cabinet by the
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC ( Engl ...
in September 1993 after being convicted for making false declarations,
a crime deemed to be of "moral turpitude".
Re-elected in 1996, Pinhasi lost his seat in the
1999 elections. In 2008, he was appointed chairman of the
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
cemeteries council.
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinhasi, Rafael
1940 births
Living people
Afghan emigrants to Israel
Afghan Jews
Israeli Orthodox Jews
Deputy mayors of places in Israel
Deputy ministers of Israel
Deputy Speakers of the Knesset
Israeli government officials convicted of crimes
Israeli people of Afghan-Jewish descent
Israeli politicians convicted of fraud
Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988)
Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)
Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)
Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)
People from Bnei Brak
People from Kabul
Rabbis convicted of crimes
Shas politicians
Israeli politicians convicted of crimes
Ministers of Communications of Israel