Isaac Levy | |
|---|---|
יצחק לוי | |
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| Ministerial roles | |
| 1996 | Minister of Energy & Infrastructure |
| 1996–1998 | Minister of Transportation |
| 1998 | Minister of Religious Affairs |
| 1998–1999 | Minister of Education |
| 1999–2000 | Minister of Housing & Construction |
| 2002 | Minister without Portfolio |
| 2002–2003 | Minister of Tourism |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1988–2005 | National Religious Party |
| 2005–2009 | Ahi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1947-06-06)6 June 1947 (age 77) Casablanca,Morocco |
Yitzhak Levy (Hebrew:יצחק לוי; born 6 July 1947) is an IsraeliOrthodox rabbi and politician who served as a member of theKnesset for theNational Religious Party (NRP) and theAhi faction of theNational Union between 1988 and 2009. Between 1998 and 2002, he was NRP leader, and also held several ministerial portfolios.
Yitzhak Levy was born inCasablanca inMorocco in 1947, the son ofDaniel-Yitzhak Levy, who later served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party. The familyimmigrated to Israel in 1957. He studied atYeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh andYeshivat Hakotel. He served as an officer in theIDF, achieving the rank of major. He was a member of theBnei Akiva 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 inKfar Maimon, and was among the initiators of the establishment of theJewish quarter inJerusalem, and one of the founders of theIsraeli settlement ofElon Moreh in theWest Bank.[1]
Levy is married, with five children, and lives in Kfar Maimon.[2]
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 Parliamentary Friendship League. Since 1988, he has been a member of the Committee on Constitution, Law, and Justice.[1]
In June 1996, he was appointedMinister of Transportation byPrime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu. In February 1998, after the death ofZevulun Hammer, he became the leader of the NRP, and served asMinister of Education until July 1999. He also served asMinister of Religious Affairs, a position he held in rotation.[1]
In July 1999, he was appointedMinister of Housing and Construction.[1] Following his appointment, he resigned from the Knesset in order to allow the next person on the NRP list,Nahum Langental, to enter the Knesset. In July 2000, following theCamp David Summit, he resigned from the government.[2]
On November 2, 2000, his 28-year-old daughter, Ayelet Hashahar Levy, was killed by a Palestinian car bomb in Jerusalem.[3]
In April 2002, duringOperation Defensive Shield, he resigned as leader of the NRP to make way forEffi Eitam, and was madeMinister without Portfolio. From September 2002 until February 2003, he served asMinister 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 thedisengagement plan.[2] He and Eitam subsequently left the NRP, and founded a new religious-Zionist party,Ahi, which joined theNational Union alliance.
In December 2008, Levy announced that he was retiring from politics, stating that the decision was made due to the newJewish Home party not holding traditional primary elections, but instead relying on an internet-based vote.[4]
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