Eli Yishai
Eli Yishai | |
---|---|
Minister of Internal Affairs | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1996–2014 | Shas |
2014–2015 | Yachad |
Personal details | |
Born | Jerusalem, Israel | 26 December 1962
Eliyahu "Eli" Yishai (
Personal life
Yishai was born in Jerusalem in 1962, to Zion (1933–2004) and Yvette-Fortuna Yishai (1934–2009), who had immigrated to Israel from Tunis in Tunisia. The second of seven children, he studied at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and Yeshivat HaNegev in Netivot. In 1980, Yishai enlisted in the IDF and served until 1983.
Yishai is married, and has five children.[1]
Political career
Shas
In 1984, he entered political life.
He retained his seat in the
After
Following the
In May 2009, he refused to allow the
In a June 2012 interview with the Israeli daily Maariv, Yishai said: "Muslims that arrive here do not even believe that this country belongs to us, to the white man."[10]
In November 2012, during
In May 2013, some months after the internal rift following Deri's political comeback, Yishai was ousted as party leader, being replaced by Deri.
Yachad
In December 2014, Yishai announced that he would be leaving Shas to establish a new religious party, which would run in the 2015 elections. The announcement came after the friction between Deri and Yishai reached breaking point;[14] Nine of Shas' eleven government ministers signed a statement indicating their support for Deri, and Shas' Council of Torah Sages ordered Deri to cancel a weekend meeting with Yishai during which the two planned to attempt a reconciliation.[15]
The new party was named Yachad, and contested the 2015 elections in alliance with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party. However, it received only 2.97% of the vote, failing to cross the 3.25% electoral threshold, and did not win any seats.
References
- ^ "Eliyahu Yishai". MFA. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ "Eliyahu Yishai". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Knesset Member, Eliyahu Yishai". Knesset. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ "Israeli political leader goes to jail after emotional send-off". CNN. 3 September 2000. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "Eli Yishai breaks away from Shas, announces new party". Haaretz. 15 December 2014.
- ^ Hartman, Ben (18 January 2012). "Parents of fallen soldiers call". JPost. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Williams, Dan (4 May 2009). "Israeli minister blocks zone deal for Church sites". Reuters. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ Weiler-Polak, Dana (5 November 2009). "Israel Proposes Work Camps for Illegal Migrants". Haaretz. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ Friedman, Ron (6 November 2009). "Health Ministry data refutes Yishai's claims that African refugees bring in disease". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 27 January 2010.[dead link] Alt URL Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Weiler-Polak, Dana (3 June 2012). "Israel Enacts Law Allowing Authorities to Detain Illegal Migrants for Up to 3 Years". Haaretz.
- ^ "Bloodlust in Israel: 'Flatten Gaza, send it back to Middle Ages, they need to die!'". Haaretz. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ Aryeh Deri restored as Shas leader, Eli Yishai is out Israel HaYom, 3 March 2013
- ^ Kalman, Aaron (5 May 2013). "I promised Deri he'd return to lead party, Shas rabbi says". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "After 30 years, Yishai looks set to divorce from Shas". The Times of Israel. 14 December 2014.
- ^ "Eli Yishai leaving Shas, launching party for elections". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 14 December 2014.
External links
- Eli Yishai on the Knesset website