Ya'akov Ben-Yezri (; 1 October 1927 – 17 February 2018) was a Moroccan–

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i politician. He served as a

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 ...

member on behalf of Gil and as the country's

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

between 2006 and 2009.

Biography

Ben-Yezri was born on 1 October 1927 in

Fes Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the nort ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He was made

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

to Israel on 30 November 1949. In 1955, he was elected to Pardes Hana local council, serving until 1963. In 1958, he became a clerk at

Clalit Clalit, (, General Health Services; previously – , General Sick Fund), is the largest of Israel's four state-mandated health service organizations, charged with administering health care services and funding for its members. (All Israeli citize ...

health services, a job he worked in until 1993. He also served as a regional director for the company between 1974 and 1993. He is also a former national chairman of the Health Funds' Workers Organization and chairman of the Health Funds' Pensioners Organization. He was voted into the 17th Knesset in the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidential e ...

, and was subsequently appointed Minister of Health in

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; , ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009. The son of a former Herut politician, Olmert was first elected to the Knesset for Likud in 1973, at th ...

's government. Ben-Yezri, a confessed smoker, later caused controversy when he lit up whilst being interviewed on television.Ben-Yizri lights up on TV
Tobacco News, 8 May 2006 He was placed fourth on the Gil list for the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum ...

, but the party failed to cross the electoral threshold, and he lost his seat.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Yezri, Yaakov 1927 births 2018 deaths Politicians from Fez, Morocco 20th-century Moroccan Jews Moroccan emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Dor (political party) politicians Ministers of health of Israel