Israel Yeshayahu

Israel Yeshayahu was born in 1908 in Saada

He was born in 1908 in Saada, Yemen. His father came from a poor family of weavers and his mother from a merchant family. When he was 2 the family moved to Sana'a so he could study in its yeshivas.

He studied under Rabbi Yihya Qafih and was active in the Dor Daim movement from age 12. He worked as a weaver, including for the Imam of Yemen, and was briefly jailed after leading a protest.

He reached the Land of Israel in 1929 and worked in agriculture. From 1936 he headed the Histadrut department for Yemenite and Eastern Jews. He founded the Yemenite Workers Movement in 1935 and wrote for Davar and Haaretz.

After independence he served as a link between the government and the Knesset. In 1949 he went to Aden to organize the immigration of Yemenite Jews in Operation Magic Carpet.

He entered the Knesset for Mapai in 1951 and served until 1977. He was Minister of Postal Services from 1967 to 1969 and Speaker of the Knesset from 1972 to 1977. He died in 1979 and was buried on Mount Herzl.