Yitzhak Levy (; born 6 July 1947) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and 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 the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party (, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew abbreviation Mafdal (), was an Israeli political party representing the interests of the Israeli settlers and religious Zionist movement. Formed ...

(NRP) and the Ahi faction of the National Union between 1988 and 2009. Between 1998 and 2002, he was NRP leader, and also held several ministerial portfolios.

Biography

Yitzhak Levy was born in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

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 ...

in 1947, the son of Daniel-Yitzhak Levy, who later served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party. The family

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Israel in 1957. He studied at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh (, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council ...

and Yeshivat Hakotel. He served as an officer in the IDF, achieving the rank of major. He was a member of the

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva (, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929, advocating the values of Torah and labor. Bne ...

Executive and World Secretariat, and Secretary-General of the National Religious Movement from 1986 to 1995. He was the Rabbi of the Bnei Akiva Talmudic College in Kfar Maimon, and was among the initiators of the establishment of the

Jewish quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to: *Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews *Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem *Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and one of the founders of the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

Elon Moreh Elon Moreh () is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shomr ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Levy is married, with five children, and lives in Kfar Maimon.

Political career

He was elected to the Knesset in 1988 on the National Religious Party list. He was a member of the House Committee from 1988 to 1996, and the Labor and Social Welfare Committee from 1988 to 1992. He was also chairman the Ethics Committee and the children welfare lobby, as well as the Israel-

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Parliamentary Friendship League. Since 1988, he has been a member of the Committee on Constitution, Law, and Justice. In June 1996, he was appointed Minister of Transportation by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

. In February 1998, after the death of

Zevulun Hammer Zevulun Hammer (; 31 May 1936 – 20 January 1998) was an Israeli politician, minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Biography Hammer was born in Haifa during the Mandate era. He was an active member of the Bnei Akiva youth movement (which he led) ...

, he became the leader of the NRP, and served as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

until July 1999. He also served as Minister of Religious Affairs, a position he held in rotation. In July 1999, he was appointed Minister of Housing and Construction. Following his appointment, he resigned from the Knesset in order to allow the next person on the NRP list,

Nahum Langental Nahum Langental (; born 20 January 1960) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party between 1999 and 2003. Biography Langental was born and raised in Bnei Brak. After serving in the Isr ...

, to enter the Knesset. In July 2000, following the Camp David Summit, he resigned from the government. On November 2, 2000, his 28-year-old daughter, Ayelet Hashahar Levy, was killed by a Palestinian car bomb in Jerusalem. In April 2002, during

Operation Defensive Shield Operation Defensive Shield ( ) was a 2002 Israeli military operation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during the Second Intifada. Lasting for just over a month, it was the largest combat operation in the territory since the 1967 Arab–Israe ...

, he resigned as leader of the NRP to make way for

Effi Eitam Efraim "Effi" Eitam (; born 25 July 1952) is an Israeli brigadier general, former commander of the 91st Division, and politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party, he later led a breakaway faction, Ahi, which merged into Likud ...

, and was made

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. From September 2002 until February 2003, he served as Minister of Tourism. In March 2003, he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office. However, in June 2004, he and Eitam resigned in protest against the disengagement plan. He and Eitam subsequently left the NRP, and founded a new religious-Zionist party, Ahi, which joined the National Union alliance. In December 2008, Levy announced that he was retiring from politics, stating that the decision was made due to the new

Jewish Home The Jewish Home () was an Orthodox Jewish, religious Zionist and far-right political party in Israel. It was originally formed by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet and Tkuma in November 2008. However, Moledet broke away from t ...

party not holding traditional primary elections, but instead relying on an internet-based vote.NRP's Yitzhak Levy retiring from politics
Ynetnews, 12 March 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Yitzhak 1947 births Living people Ahi (political party) politicians Deputy speakers of the Knesset Israeli Orthodox rabbis Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Ministers of education of Israel Ministers of housing of Israel Ministers of religious affairs of Israel Ministers of tourism of Israel Ministers of transport of Israel Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews National Religious Party leaders People from Casablanca Rabbinic members of the Knesset Ministers without Portfolio of Israel