Nissan Yigal Guetta (; born 18 March 1966) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of 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 ...

for

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 ...

between 2016 and 2017.

Early life

Guetta was born and raised in

Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona () is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanon, Lebanese border. In it had a population of . Located near the Blue Line (withdrawal line), Israel ...

. His brother and sister-in-law were killed in the Kiryat Shmona massacre in 1974 when he was 8 years old. He carried out his IDF

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Nahal Brigade The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces' main infantry brigades. It has operated in all major wars and large-scale operations since its inception in 1982, playing key roles during the 1982 and the 2006 Lebanon Wars and t ...

. He was educated at Bais Hatalmud in Jerusalem, and gained a master's degree in business and public administration from Ono Academic College.

Municipal politics

In 2003 he was elected to

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 ...

City Council on the Shas list, becoming responsible for its finance portfolio. In 2008, he was appointed CEO of the municipality of El'ad. In 2010, after alleging corruption on the part of the mayor, he was fired. He returned to work, however, after the State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss issued a temporary decree. Lindenstrauss ordered Guetta to leave his position six months later, once the decree expired.

Knesset member

Guetta was placed tenth on the

list for the 2015 Knesset elections, but failed to become a Knesset member when Shas won seven seats. In January 2016, he entered the Knesset after Deputy Minister of the Interior Meshulam Nahari resigned as an MK under the Norwegian Law. In September 2017, Guetta revealed on Army Radio that he had attended the

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

ceremony of his nephew two years earlier. Later that month, he resigned from the Knesset under pressure from rabbis. Guetta did receive support from several Shas MKs, as well as MKs from other parties including

Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...

and Merav Michaeli. His seat was taken by Danny Saida.

Broadcasting career

In January 2018, he began presenting a radio show on the Israel Broadcasting Corporation. In May 2019, he began starring in an investigative television series with a focus on socio-economic inequality, also on the Israel Broadcasting Corporation, titled ''Citizen Guetta''.
Citizen Guetta
' (Israel Broadcasting Corporation official website).

Personal life

Guetta is married, with three children. His eldest daughter, Simcha Guetta, is a model and

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

star. He lives in the Pardes Katz neighbourhood of Bnei Brak.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guetta, Yigal 1966 births Living people People from Kiryat Shmona Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Shas politicians People from Bnei Brak Ono Academic College alumni