Meir Yitzhak Halevi

Meir Yitzhak Halevi
מאיר יצחק-הלוי‎
Mayor of Eilat
In office
2003–2021
Faction represented in the Knesset
2021–2022New Hope
Personal details
Born (1953-06-18) 18 June 1953 (age 71)
Jerusalem, Israel

Meir Yitzhak Halevi (Hebrew: מאיר יצחק-הלוי; born 1953) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the New Hope party[1] and as deputy Minister of Education.[2] He previously served as mayor of Eilat between 2003 and 2021.[3]

Biography

Halevi was born in Jerusalem, in 1953, and is of Yemenite-Jewish descent, as his grandfather was the chief rabbi of Yemen. Halevi fought in the Yom Kippur War.

Political career

He moved to Eilat in 1978 and ran the community centre and management college in the city. He was elected to the city council in 1993, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1998. Between 1998 and 2003 he served as opposition leader on the council. He won the municipal election in 2003, and following the formation of Kadima, Halevi joined the new party. In the 2008 elections he was re-elected with 50% of the vote.

In 2009 he criticised illegal African immigration into Israel, stating the parts of the city of Eilat "have been conquered by infiltrators".[4]

He gained notoriety for his "City Without Crime" program. He left Likud and joined New Hope in 2020.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Knesset to receive 16 new MKs after ministers resign through 'Norwegian law'". The Times of Israel. 16 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Lawmaker from Sa'ar's faction to leave politics ahead of elections". The Times of Israel. 1 September 2022.
  3. ^ Kubovich, Yaniv; Zarchin, Tomer (21 November 2010). "Eilat mayor knew of assault allegations against Bar-Lev". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  4. ^ Lappin, Yaakov. "'Eilat inundated with illegal migrants'". The Jerusalem Post.
  5. ^ Hoffman, Gil; Joffre, Tzvi (December 28, 2020). "Eilat mayor joins Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope Party". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved February 12, 2021.