Rafael Pinhasi (; born 1940) is an Israeli former politician who served as Minister of Communications between 1990 and 1992.

Biography

Pinhasi was born in

Kabul Kabul 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

in Afghanistan; his family migrated there from

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

in the 1930s. They later emigrated to Israel in 1950. He was amongst 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 ...

, and served as deputy mayor of

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

. In 1984 he was elected to the

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 ...

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 (, ) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel when the President is incapacitated. The current speaker is Amir Ohana, who ...

. 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 () 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 (Israel), Yes). The company is tra ...

, 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 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 (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

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 ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

cemeteries council.

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 Israeli Mizrahi Jews

Biography

See also

References

External links