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 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.

Religious Services minister

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 current minister is Naftali Bennett of The Jewish Home party. Eli Ben-Dahan serves as Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs.

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. During his short stints, Zadok worked to streamline the operation of the rabbinical courts and strengthen relations with the religious leaders of all faiths. 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).

List of Religious Services ministers

Parties

  Mizrachi/URF/HHaM/NRP   Shas   Alignment/Labor   Likud   Independent

No.	Name	Party	Term of office		Govt. (P.M.)
Minister of Religions and War Victims (1948–1951)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |1	Yehuda Leib Maimon	Mizrachi United Religious Front	May 14, 1948	October 8, 1951	Prov·1·2 (Ben-Gurion)
Minister of Religions (1951–1981)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |2	Haim-Moshe Shapira	Hapoel HaMizrachi National Religious Party	October 8, 1951	July 1, 1958	3·4 (Ben-Gurion) 5·6 (Sharett) 7·8 (Ben-Gurion)
style="background:Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;" |3	Ya'akov Moshe Toledano	Not an MK	December 3, 1958	October 15, 1960	8·9 (Ben-Gurion)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |4	Zerach Warhaftig	National Religious Party	November 2, 1961	March 10, 1974	13 (Eshkol) 14·15 (Meir)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |5	Yitzhak Rafael	National Religious Party	March 10, 1974	June 3, 1974	16 (Meir)
style="background:Template:Israeli Labor Party/meta/color; color:white;" |(4)	Haim Yosef Zadok	Alignment (Labor)	June 3, 1974	October 29, 1974	17 (Rabin)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |(5)	Yitzhak Rafael	National Religious Party	October 30, 1974	December 22, 1976
style="background:Template:Israeli Labor Party/meta/color; color:white;" |(4)	Haim Yosef Zadok	Alignment (Labor)	January 16, 1977	June 20, 1977
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |6	Aharon Abuhatzira	National Religious Party	June 20, 1977	August 5, 1981	18 (Begin)
Minister of Religious Affairs (1981–2003)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |7	Yosef Burg	National Religious Party	August 5, 1981	September 13, 1984	19 (Begin) 20 (Shamir)
style="background:Template:Israeli Labor Party/meta/color; color:white;" |–	Shimon Peres (as PM)	Alignment (Labor)	September 13, 1984	December 23, 1984	21 (Peres)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |(7)	Yosef Burg	National Religious Party	September 13, 1984	October 5, 1986
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |8	Zevulun Hammer	National Religious Party	October 7, 1986	June 11, 1990	21 (Peres) 22·23 (Shamir)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |9	Avner Shaki	National Religious Party	June 11, 1990	July 13, 1992	24 (Shamir)
style="background:Template:Israeli Labor Party/meta/color; color:white;" |10	Yitzhak Rabin (as PM)	Labor	July 13, 1992	February 27, 1995	25 (Rabin)
style="background:Template:Israeli Labor Party/meta/color; color:white;" |11	Shimon Sheetrit	Labor	February 27, 1995	June 18, 1996	25 (Rabin) 26 (Peres)
style="background:Template:Likud/meta/color; color:white;" |–	Benjamin Netanyahu (as PM)	Likud	June 18, 1996	August 7, 1996	27 (Netanyahu)
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |12	Eli Suissa	Shas	August 7, 1996	August 12, 1997
style="background:Template:Likud/meta/color; color:white;" |–	Benjamin Netanyahu (as PM)	Likud	August 12, 1997	August 22, 1997
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |(8)	Zevulun Hammer	National Religious Party	August 22, 1997	January 20, 1998
style="background:Template:Likud/meta/color; color:white;" |–	Benjamin Netanyahu (as PM)	Likud	January 20, 1998	February 25, 1998
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |13	Yitzhak Levy	National Religious Party	February 25, 1998	September 13, 1998
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |(12)	Eli Suissa	Shas	September 13, 1998	July 6, 1999
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |14	Yitzhak Cohen	Shas	July 6, 1999	July 11, 2000	28 (Barak)
style="background:Template:Israeli Labor Party/meta/color; color:white;" |15	Yossi Beilin	One Israel (Labor)	October 11, 2000	March 7, 2001
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |16	Asher Ohana	Shas (not an MK)	March 7, 2001	February 28, 2003	29 (Sharon)
style="background:Template:Likud/meta/color; color:white;" |–	Ariel Sharon (as PM)	Likud	February 28, 2003	December 31, 2003	30 (Sharon)
Ministry abolished 2003.
Minister of Religious Services (2008– )
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |(14)	Yitzhak Cohen	Shas	January 14, 2008	March 31, 2009	31 (Olmert)
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |17	Ya'akov Margi	Shas	March 31, 2009	March 18, 2013	32 (Netanyahu)
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |18	Naftali Bennett	The Jewish Home	March 18, 2013	Incumbent	33 (Netanyahu)

¹ Died in office.

Deputy Ministers

Parties

  HHaM/NRP/DHaT   Shas

No.	Name	Party	Term of office		Govt.
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |1	Zerach Warhaftig	Hapoel HaMizrachi National Religious Party	January 5, 1953	January 26, 1954	4
January 9, 1956			July 1, 1958	7·8
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |2	Binyamin Shahor	National Religious Party	February 1, 1966	November 17, 1969	13·14
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |3	Haim Drukman	National Religious Party	August 11, 1981	March 2, 1982	19
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |4	Moshe Gafni	Degel HaTorah	July 23, 1990	July 13, 1992	24
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |5	Rafael Pinhasi	Shas	December 31, 1992	September 14, 1993	25
style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |6 7	Aryeh Gamliel & Yigal Bibi	Shas National Religious Party	August 13, 1996	August 22, 1997	27
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |7	Yigal Bibi	National Religious Party	August 22, 1997	August 24, 1997
rowspan=2 style="background:Template:Shas/meta/color; color:white;" |6 7	Aryeh Gamliel & Yigal Bibi	Shas National Religious Party	August 24, 1997	January 20, 1998
February 25, 1998			July 6, 1999
style="background:Template:National Union-National Religious Party/meta/color; color:white;" |7	Yigal Bibi	National Religious Party	August 5, 1999	July 12, 2000	28

External links

• Ministry of Religious Services Template:He icon