Shlomo Benizri
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| Shlomo Benizri | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 February 1961 |
| Knesset(s) | 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th (current) |
| Party | Shas |
| Gov't roles (current in bold) |
Minister of Health Minister of Labor & Social Welfare |
Shlomo Benizri (Hebrew: שלמה בניזרי, born 7 February 1961) is an Israeli politician and member of the Shas party. He represented Shas in the Knesset between 1992 and 2008, serving as Deputy Health Minister, Minister of Health, and Labor and Social Welfare Minister during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
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[edit] Controversies
[edit] Corruption scandal
On 29 March 2006, he was charged by the State Prosecutor's Office with accepting bribes and breaching the public trust. He allegedly accepted favors worth millions of shekels from his friend, contractor Moshe Sela, in exchange for inside information regarding foreign workers scheduled to arrive in Israel. He was sixth on the Shas list of candidates for the 2006 elections. The decision to indict Benizri after the elections had already taken place was a conscious decision on the part of the Israeli attorney general Menachem Mazuz. He was eventually convicted of bribery, conspiring to commit a crime and obstruction of justice on 1 April 2008; if the court rules that his crimes amounted to "moral turpitude", he will have to resign from the Knesset.[1]
On 27 April 2008, a district court sentenced Benizri to 18 months in jail and decided that his actions amount to moral turpitude. Although his attorneys planned to file an appeal,[2][3] he resigned from the Knesset the same day and was replaced by Mazor Bahaina.
[edit] Other
In 2001 Benizri was accused of racism after he said "I just don't understand why a restaurant needs a slant-eye to serve me my meal."[4] He has also stated, 'The Jews did kill Jesus' reflecting his point of view on The Passion of the Christ controversy.[5]
In 2008, Benizri blamed several earthquakes in the region on Israel's tolerance of homosexuality.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Benizri: I've been persecuted for 8 years for no fault of my own Haaretz, 1 April 2008
- ^ Zino, Aviram. "Court sentences Shas MK Benizri to 18-month term", Ynetnews, 2008-04-28. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
- ^ Sela, Neta. "Benizri Will Go to Prison, Without "He is Innocent" Song", Ynet, 2008-04-08. Retrieved on 2008-04-08. (Hebrew)
- ^ They serve, suffer and still root for us Jerusalem Post, 11 July 2002
- ^ israelinsider: anti-Semitism: One Shas MK says ban "Passion", another says "Jews did kill Jesus"
- ^ Israeli MP blames quakes on gays
[edit] External links
- Shlomo Benizri Knesset website (English)
