David Levy

David Levy was born in 1937 in Rabat

David Levy was born in Rabat, Morocco, to Moshe, a carpenter, and Simi. He studied at the Alliance school and at a Talmud Torah, and began working in his father's carpentry shop at age 12. In Morocco he belonged to Zionist youth movements, ending in Betar.

His family immigrated to Israel in 1957 and settled in Beit She'an. On the way he met Rachel Edri, who became his wife. He was found unfit for IDF service because of an eye defect, and worked in forestry, farming and construction.

He joined Herut in 1961 and became a union activist in the Histadrut, leading the Blue-White faction. In 1965 he was elected to the Beit She'an council for Gahal and became deputy head of the council. He entered the Knesset in 1969 on the Gahal list.

After the 1977 election he became Minister of Immigrant Absorption, and from 1979 to 1990 he was Minister of Housing and Construction. He served as Foreign Minister under Yitzhak Shamir from 1990 and later under Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. In 1996 he founded the Gesher party after breaking with Likud, and he quit Barak's coalition in 2000.

He later returned to Likud and lost his Knesset seat in 2006. He received the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement in 2018. He was the father of 12 children, including Orly Levy, and died on 2 June 2024.