Yehuda Leib Maimon ( he, יהודה לייב מימון, 11 December 1875 – 10 July 1962, also known as Yehuda Leib HaCohen Maimon) was an Israeli rabbi, politician and leader of the Religious Zionist movement. He was Israel's first Minister of Religions.

Biography

Yehuda Leib Fishman (later Maimon) was born in Mărculești, in the Soroksky Uyezd of the Bessarabia Governorate (then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, now in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

), Maimon studied in a number of yeshivot and received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, the author of the Aruch HaShulchan. He was one of the founders of the Mizrachi movement in 1902. By this time Maimon had moved to the

, where he was arrested several times for

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

activity. He was a delegate to the ninth Zionist Congress in 1909, and attended every one until Israeli independence in 1948. In 1913, Maimon immigrated to Palestine (then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

), but was expelled during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, where he organised the Mizrachi movement. His sister,

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, T ...

also served as a member of the Knesset for

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

. One of his great grand-daughters is the model Nina Brosh.

Political career

After returning to Mandate Palestine (now under British control) in 1919, Maimon became leader of Mizrachi in the country and together with

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one o ...

he helped establish the Chief Rabbinate. He was elected to the board of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

in 1935.Yehuda Leib Maimon: Public Activities
Knesset website In 1936, he founded Mossad Harav Kook, a religious research foundation and notable publishing house named in honor of Rabbi

. In 1946, he was imprisoned by the British in Latrun during Operation Agatha. The British detained him on the Jewish Sabbath, and he objected to riding in a vehicle on the Sabbath, and offered instead to walk to a nearby police station. The British refused his offer and forced him into a waiting car. Maimon helped draft Israel's Declaration of Independence and was one of its signers. He was appointed Minister of Religions and Minister of War Victims in the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

established immediately after independence. He was elected to the first Knesset in 1949 as a member of 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 ...

(an alliance of Agudat Yisrael,

Poalei Agudat Yisrael Poalei Agudat Yisrael ( he, פועלי אגודת ישראל, , Agudat Yisrael Workers) was a trade union and Jewish political party in Poland and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew acronym (Hebrew: ...

, Mizrachi and

Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home. Histo ...

) and retained his ministerial role in the first and second governments. He was the driving force behind a failed effort to reestablish the Sanhedrin. He lost his seat in the 1951 elections.

Awards and recognition

In 1958, he was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for his contribution to Rabbinical literature.

References

External links

*
"Renewing the Sanhedrin in our New State"
(English translation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maimon, Yehuda Leib 1875 births 1962 deaths People from Florești District People from Soroksky Uyezd Moldovan Jews Bessarabian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Mizrachi (political party) politicians United Religious Front politicians Jewish National Council members Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) 20th-century Russian rabbis Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel Israel Prize Rabbi recipients Israel Prize in Rabbinical literature recipients 20th-century Israeli rabbis

Biography

Political career

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links