Politicsאליהו אלישר

Eliyahu Eliashar

Eliyahu Eliashar was an Israeli politician, writer and businessman who served in the first and second Knessets and led the Sephardi community in Jerusalem.

1899 to 1981Leading Jerusalem's Sephardi communityMember of the first two KnessetsIsraeli-Palestinian peace activism

Born: 10 October 1899, Jerusalem
Died: 30 October 1981, Jerusalem
Occupation: politician, writer, businessperson, physician
Party: Sephardim and Oriental Communities
Education: Saint Joseph University of Beirut
Wars: World War I

Eliyahu Eliashar was born in 1899 in Jerusalem

Eliashar was born in Jerusalem in 1899, when the city was under Ottoman rule. His great-grandfathers included rabbis Yaakov Shaul Eliashar and Raphael Meir Panigel. His younger brother Menashe Eliashar became a businessman and public figure.

He studied medicine at the university in Beirut and later studied law in Cairo and Jerusalem. During World War I he served as a medical officer in the Ottoman Army.

From 1922 he worked for the British Mandate government and came to manage its customs and trade division. In 1935 he left the civil service for business. He became president of the Sephardi Community Committee in Jerusalem in 1942 and edited the weekly Hed HaMizrah.

He was elected to the Knesset in 1949 for the Sephardim and Oriental Communities party and later sat for the General Zionists. He also served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem from 1951 to 1953. He lost his seat in 1955 when his list failed to pass the threshold.

In 1974 he co-founded the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. He published Living with the Palestinians in 1975 and Living with the Jews in 1981. He died in 1981 and was buried on the Mount of Olives.