View source for Nissim Ze'ev

{{Short description|Israeli politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - The Evacuation of Bedolach (6) (cropped).jpg
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1951|9|9|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Jerusalem]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| suboffice1          = [[Shas]]
| office1             = Faction represented in the [[Knesset]]
| subterm1            = 1999–2015
| native_name         = נסים זאב
| native_name_lang    = he
}}

'''Nissim Mordechai Ze'ev''' ({{langx|he|נסים מרדכי זאב}}; born 9 September 1951) is an Israeli [[politician]]. One of the founders of [[Shas]],<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Deri-uses-the-rabbis-has-complete-influence-over-them-says-Shas-MK-Nissim-Zeev-389626 Deri ‘uses the rabbis,’ has ‘complete influence over them’ says Shas MK Nissim Ze’ev] The Jerusalem Post, 1 February 2015</ref> he served as Deputy Mayor of [[Jerusalem]] between 1983 and 1998, and as a member of [[Knesset]] from 1999 until 2015.

==Biography==
Ze'ev was born and resides in Jerusalem. He is married, and has a large family. He is a graduate of [[Porat Yosef Yeshiva]], and was ordained to the Rabbinate. He has served as a [[Rabbi]], [[Shochet]], [[Mohel]], and [[Chazzan]] in Israel and abroad.

He began his [[Torah]] activities in his youth when, in 1968, he established Torah youth clubs named "Irgun Yeladim Lomdei Torah" (''Association of Children Who Study Torah''). They were established in memory of the [[Israeli Defense Forces|IDF]] soldiers who died when the [[List of ships of the Israeli Navy|INS]] Eilat was lost in 1967. Hundreds of students participated in this club in the afternoon studying "Ta'amei Hamikra" (Torah incantations), Psalms, Jewish Law, and Jewish Legend.

In 1971, Ze'ev served as a rabbi and shochet in the [[Ein HaEmek]] [[moshav]]. Three years later, he was sent abroad as a shochet and inspector on behalf of the [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel]]. He would ultimately spend five years away from Israel, going to [[Mexico City]] in 1977, to help establish the Aram Tzova [[Kollel]], then to the "[[Sephardic]] Jewish Center" in Brooklyn, New York, where he served as rabbi and chazzan. In 1979, he returned to Israel to establish the "Nevat Israel" Institutes for Sephardic Jewish girls - ranging from kindergarten, to elementary schools, to high schools, and to a teaching seminary to train teachers and kindergarten teachers.

===Political career===
In the summer of 1983, he established a non-profit organization called the "Sephardic Association of Torah Observers", and served as its chairman. In addition to educational, cultural, and charitable activities, the association was involved in the selection of representatives to appear as a political list for the elections for local municipalities and the Knesset. The first meeting of the association convened shortly thereafter in the Yesodei Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Participants included the president of the Torah Elders Council, [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel|Chief Rabbi]] [[Ovadia Yosef]], as well as Rabbi [[Shalom Cohen (rabbi)|Shalom Cohen]], Rabbi [[Yehuda Tzadka]] (Head of the Porat Yoseph Yeshiva), and Rabbi Shabtai Aton. With their blessings, the Shas party ran for the first time for the local elections in Jerusalem, with Ze'ev at its head, and succeeded in winning three seats.<ref name=JP/> Between 1983 and 1998, Ze'ev served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem in charge of the Welfare Department, as well as chairman of the Allotments of Land for Public Institutes and chairman of the Exemption Committee for [[Arnona]]. He was a candidate in the [[1993 Jerusalem mayoral election]], but finished third with only 5% of the vote.

In [[1999 Israeli general election|1999]], Ze'ev was elected to the Knesset on the Shas list, and was re-elected in [[2003 Israeli legislative election|2003]], [[2006 Israeli legislative election|2006]], [[2009 Israeli legislative election|2009]], and [[2013 Israeli legislative election|2013]]. During his time in the Knesset, he served as a member of the Knesset Committee, the [[Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee]], the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, and the Committee on Interior Affairs. In the 17th Knesset (2006–2009), he served as chairman of the Knesset Committee on the War Against Drugs and Alcohol, coordinating with all the relevant agencies and holding many meetings which led to a body of legislation to fight drug and alcohol abuse.

He was not included in the Shas list for the [[2015 Israeli legislative election|2015 elections]] after being removed from the list by Shas leader [[Aryeh Deri]].<ref name=JP>[http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Turmoil-in-Shas-Rabbi-Ovadia-Yosef-didnt-want-Deri-period-392314 Shas founder MK Nissim Ze'ev: Rabbi Ovadia Yosef didn't want Deri, period] The Jerusalem Post, 26 February 2015</ref>

==Views==
Ze'ev is known for his strong opposition to the evacuation of Jews from [[Israeli settlement]]s. To advance this cause, he established the Knesset Caucus for Israel, Judaism, and Global Ethics, and presented legislative proposals to prevent the evacuation of settlers against their will. Among the other laws initiated by him are the Law to Increase Child Allotments, the Law to Punish Terrorists, the Abortion Law, the Incitement Law, and the Law to Recognize the Rights of Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands.

In June 2007, he compared homosexuals to drug addicts, and suggested that rehabilitation centers be set up for them throughout Israel, saying: "The government should initiate this; these people are unfortunate, and we must keep an eye on them to assist them... I am not speaking of a closed institution, but of a center that will accept anyone who walks through its doors... We must set up special teams of psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers who will help them return to a normal life, just like in a drug rehabilitation center."

He also claimed that gay people must be made aware of "how their lifestyle is destroying our existence", and that MKs "propose numerous bills to help barren women become more fertile, but on the other hand, we allow this immorality".<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3415870,00.html Shas MK proposes 'rehab centers' for gays] Ynetnews, 21 June 2007</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{MKlink|id=206}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Yair Peretz]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chairman of the [[Knesset#Knesset_committees|Committee on Drug Abuse]]|years=2006–2009}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mohammad Barakeh]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ze'ev, Nissim}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Deputy mayors of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Israeli Orthodox Jews]]
[[Category:Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003)]]
[[Category:Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006)]]
[[Category:Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)]]
[[Category:Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)]]
[[Category:Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)]]
[[Category:Mohalim]]
[[Category:Politicians from Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Shas leaders]]
[[Category:City councillors of Jerusalem]]