Yosef Azran ( he, יוסף עזרן, 19 October 1941 – 10 February 2010) was an Israeli 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 ...

between 1988 and 1996, and as 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", " ...

from 1990 until 1992.

Biography

Born in Marrakech,

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 ...

in 1941, Azran made aliyah to

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 ...

in 1957. He studied at a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

after high school, and was ordained as a rabbi at the Harry Fischel Institute. He worked as a rabbi in a neighbourhood in Jerusalem, as director of a boarding school in Strasbourg in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, as director of the Torah Institution in Ashdod, before becoming the chief rabbi of

Kiryat Malakhi Kiryat Malakhi ( he, קִרְיַת מַלְאָכִי, also Qiryat Malakhi or Kiryat Malachi) is a city in the Southern District of Israel, from Ashkelon. In it had a population of . Its jurisdiction is 4,632 dunams (~4.6 km2). Histor ...

and later Rishon LeZion. He joined the new

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 ...

party in the 1980s, and was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. On 2 July 1990 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance. He retained his seat in the 1992 elections, but on 28 February 1996 left the party to sit as an independent.Mergers and Splits amongst Parliamentary Groups
Knesset website During the 13th Knesset he was Deputy Speaker. In the May 1996 elections he headed a new party named Telem Emuna, but it won only 0.4% of the vote, failing to cross the electoral threshold, and he lost his seat. He died in 2010 at the age of 68.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azran, Yosef 1941 births 2010 deaths Deputy ministers of Israel Deputy Speakers of the Knesset 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) Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from Marrakesh Rabbinic members of the Knesset Shas politicians