Ministry of Religious Services

The Ministry of Religious Services (Hebrew: המשרד לשירותי דת‎ (HaMisrad leSherutay Dat) (formerly Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Religion) is a government ministry of Israel that handles Jewish religious affairs.

Responsibilities

The Ministry of Religious Services appoints religious councils and covers 40% of the shortfall in approved budgets for religious facilities and services; grants financial assistance to yeshivas; plans and finances the construction and renovation of synagogues and ritual baths; supervises Jewish holy places; organizes Torah teaching activities and outreach; organizes public religious celebrations; cultivates religious ties with Diaspora Jewry; certifies kashrut in public and government institutions; coordinates religious services of non-Jewish groups in Israel; plans supplementary religious education for underprivileged youth; provides Jewish ritual articles to new immigrants, schools and the needy; and provides budgets for the Chief Rabbinate and rabbinical courts.^[1]

List of ministers

The Religious Services Minister of Israel (Hebrew: שר לשירותי דת‎, Sar LeShirutei Dat) is the political head of the Ministry of Religious Services and a relatively minor position in the Israeli cabinet.

The post was included in the provisional government, and was initially known as the Minister of Religions and War Victims. Upon the formation of the second government on 8 October 1951 it became the Minister of Religions. On 5 August 1981 the post was renamed Minister of Religious Affairs. The post was scrapped on 1 January 2004, but resurrected on 14 January 2008.

Most office holders have been religious Jews, though some were secular. Haim Yosef Zadok, a secular Jew, served twice, in 1974 and 1977.^[2] During his short stints, Zadok worked to streamline the operation of the rabbinical courts and strengthen relations with the religious leaders of all faiths.^[2] Zerach Warhaftig was the longest serving minister, holding the post for over 12 years between 1961 and 1974. In Benjamin Netanyahu's government the portfolio changed hands six times, with four people holding the post (Netanyahu three times and Eli Suissa twice).

#	Minister	Party	Government	Term start	Term end	Notes
Minister of Religions and War Victims
1	Yehuda Leib Maimon	Mizrachi United Religious Front	P, 1, 2	14 May 1948	8 October 1951
Minister of Religions
2	Haim-Moshe Shapira	Hapoel HaMizrachi National Religious Party	3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	8 October 1951	1 July 1958
3	Ya'akov Moshe Toledano	Not an MK	8, 9	3 December 1958	15 October 1960	Died in office
4	Zerach Warhaftig	National Religious Party	10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15	2 November 1961	10 March 1974
5	Yitzhak Rafael	National Religious Party	16	10 March 1974	3 June 1974
6	Haim Yosef Zadok	Alignment	17	3 June 1974	29 October 1974
–	Yitzhak Rafael	National Religious Party	17	30 October 1974	22 December 1976
–	Haim Yosef Zadok	Alignment	17	16 January 1977	20 June 1977
7	Aharon Abuhatzira	National Religious Party	18	20 June 1977	5 August 1981
Minister of Religious Affairs
8	Yosef Burg	National Religious Party	19, 20	5 August 1981	13 September 1984
9	Shimon Peres	Alignment	21	13 September 1984	23 December 1984
–	Yosef Burg	National Religious Party	21	13 September 1984	5 October 1986
10	Zevulun Hammer	National Religious Party	21, 22, 23	7 October 1986	11 June 1990
11	Avner Shaki	National Religious Party	24	11 June 1990	13 July 1992
12	Yitzhak Rabin	Labor Party	25	13 July 1992	27 February 1995
13	Shimon Sheetrit	Labor Party	25, 26	27 February 1995	18 June 1996
14	Binyamin Netanyahu	Likud	27	18 June 1996	7 August 1996
15	Eli Suissa	Shas	27	7 August 1996	12 August 1997
–	Binyamin Netanyahu	Likud	27	12 August 1997	22 August 1997
–	Zevulun Hammer	National Religious Party	27	22 August 1997	20 January 1998	Died in office
–	Binyamin Netanyahu	Likud	27	20 January 1998	25 February 1998
16	Yitzhak Levy	National Religious Party	27	25 February 1998	13 September 1998
–	Eli Suissa	Shas	27	13 September 1998	6 July 1999
17	Yitzhak Cohen	Shas	28	6 July 1999	11 July 2000
18	Yossi Beilin	One Israel	28	11 October 2000	7 March 2001
19	Asher Ohana	Not an MK	29	7 March 2001	28 February 2003
20	Ariel Sharon	Likud	30	28 February 2003	31 December 2003
Minister of Religious Services
–	Yitzhak Cohen	Shas	31	14 January 2008	31 March 2009
21	Ya'akov Margi	Shas	32	31 March 2009	18 March 2013
22	Naftali Bennett	The Jewish Home	33	18 March 2013	14 May 2015
23	David Azulai	Shas	34	14 May 2015

Deputy ministers

#	Minister	Party	Government	Term start	Term end
1	Zerach Warhaftig	Hapoel HaMizrachi	4	5 January 1953	26 January 1954
–	Zerach Warhaftig	National Religious Party	7, 8	9 January 1956	1 July 1958
2	Binyamin Shahor	National Religious Party	13, 14	1 February 1966	17 November 1969
3	Haim Drukman	National Religious Party	19	11 August 1981	2 March 1982
4	Moshe Gafni	Degel HaTorah	24	23 July 1990	13 July 1992
5	Rafael Pinhasi	Shas	25	31 December 1992	14 September 1993
6	Aryeh Gamliel	Shas	27	13 August 1996	22 August 1997
–	Aryeh Gamliel	Shas	27	24 August 1997	20 January 1998
–	Aryeh Gamliel	Shas	27	25 February 1998	6 July 1999
7	Yigal Bibi	National Religious Party	27	13 August 1996	20 January 1998
–	Yigal Bibi	National Religious Party	27	25 February 1998	6 July 1999
–	Yigal Bibi	National Religious Party	28	5 August 1999	12 July 2000
8	Eli Ben-Dahan	The Jewish Home	33	18 March 2013	14 May 2015

References

1. Ministry of Religious Affairs
2. Haim J. Zadok Israel Democracy Institute

External links

• Ministry of Religious Services (Hebrew)
• All Ministers in the Ministry of Religions Knesset website