Yosef Azran (; 19 October 1941 – 10 February 2010) was an Israeli 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 ...

between 1988 and 1996, and as Deputy

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1990 until 1992.

Biography

Born in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

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 1941, Azran emigrated to Israel in 1957. He studied at a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; 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 studied in parallel. The stu ...

after high school, and was ordained as a rabbi at the

Harry Fischel Institute Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research ("Machon Harry Fischel") is a Jewish theological institute in Jerusalem that specializes in training dayanim (religious court judges). The institute was founded in 1931 by the American philanthropist Ha ...

. He worked as a rabbi in a neighbourhood in Jerusalem, as director of a boarding school in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, as director of the Torah Institution in

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

, before becoming the chief rabbi of Kiryat Malakhi and later

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

. He joined the new

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 ...

party in the 1980s, and was elected to the Knesset on the party's list in 1988. 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 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 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