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Eli Yishai

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Template:Infobox member of the Knesset

Eliyahu "Eli" Yishai (Template:Lang-he, born 26 December 1962) is an Israeli politician and head of the Shas party. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Shas, and as both one of four Deputy Prime Ministers and Minister of Internal Affairs.

Private life

Yishai was born in Jerusalem in 1962, the second of seven children to Zion and Yvette-Fortuna Yishai who had immigrated to Israel from Tunis, Tunisia. Yishai is married and has five children.[1][2]

Political life

Yishai started his political life as a member of the Jerusalem City Council from 1987-1988. He was first elected to the Knesset in the 1996 elections as a member of Shas, the Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi party, and was made Minister of Labour and Social Welfare in Binyamin Netanyahu's government.

He retained his seat in the 1999 elections, and was again appointed Minister of Labor and Social Welfare in Ehud Barak's government. After Ariel Sharon beat Barak in the 2001 Prime Ministerial election, Yishai was appointed as Interior Minister and made a Deputy Prime Minister in Sharon's national unity government.

Yishai took over as party leader when Aryeh Deri was convicted of fraud but Shas were not included in Ariel Sharon's coalition government of the 16th Knesset.

After the 2006 elections Shas were invited to join Ehud Olmert's coalition and Yishai was made Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labour as well as being a Deputy Prime Minister. He remained Deputy Prime Minister following the 2009 elections, but moved to the Internal Affairs portfolio.

Controversies

In 2006, Yishai was subjected to criticism after he claimed that negative results from the 2006 Lebanon War were a consequence of soldiers not being as religiously observant as they were in the past.[3]

Yishai has been accused of negligence in the wake of Israel's deadly forest fire in December 2010, prompting calls to resign.[4]

In May 2009, he refused to allow the Holy See to exercise jurisdiction over Christian holy sites in Israel, an agreement which would have resolved disputes over the implementation of the 1993 Fundamental Accord.[5] That November, Yishai argued that African refugee migrants to Israel should not be allowed to settle permanently in Israel because they bring in "a range of diseases such as hepatitis, measles, tuberculosis and AIDS."[6] However, the Jerusalem Post reviewed Israeli Ministry of Health data, and concluded that there was a relatively low infection rate among asylum-seekers.[7] In a June 2012 interview with the Israeli daily Maariv, Yishai was quoted as saying: "Muslims that arrive here do not even believe that this country belongs to us, to the white man." [8] According to Yishai, asylum seekers should be accommodated in voluntary work camps in order to work off their expenses free of charge. He has also called homosexuality "sick", and stated that Hamas should be "wiped out".[citation needed]

Yishai declared Günter Grass, the German Nobel laureate, as persona non grata on 8 April 2012, four days after the publication of his poem "Was gesagt werden muss" ("What Must Be Said").[9][10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Personalities/From+A-Z/Eliyahu+Yishai.htm
  2. ^ http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=63
  3. ^ http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=254131
  4. ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3993903,00.html
  5. ^ Williams, Dan (2009-05-04). "Israeli minister blocks zone deal for Church sites". Reuters. Retrieved 201-01-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ Weiler-Polak, Dana (2009-11-05). "Israel proposes work camps for illegal migrants". Haaretz. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  7. ^ Friedman, Ron (2009-11-06). "Health Ministry data refutes Yishai's claims that African refugees bring in disease". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  8. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-enacts-law-allowing-authorities-to-detain-illegal-migrants-for-up-to-3-years-1.434127
  9. ^ Bar-Zohar, Barak; Ravid (8 April 2012). "Interior Minister declares Gunter Grass persona non grata in Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  10. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (8 April 2012). "Günter Grass barred from Israel over poem: Nobel laureate, who says he had not meant to criticise Israel but Netanyahu government, declared persona non grata". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  11. ^ Levy, Gideon (8 April 2012). "Israelis can be angry with Gunter Grass, but they must listen to him". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  12. ^ Harding, Luke; Sherwood, Harriet (5 April 2012). "Günter Grass's Israel poem provokes outrage: Germany's most celebrated writer's lyrical warning of a looming Israeli aggression against Iran triggers international row". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 5 April 2012.

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