Politicsיואל רזבוזוב

Joel Razvozov

Yoel Razvozov is an Israeli politician and former judoka who served as Israel's Minister of Tourism from 2021 to 2022 and as a Knesset member for Yesh Atid.

born 1980Israeli Minister of TourismYesh Atid Knesset memberEuropean judo silver medals

Born: 5 July 1980, Birobidzhan
Occupation: politician, judoka
Party: Yesh Atid

Joel Razvozov was born in 1980 in Birobidzhan

He was born Konstantin Razvozov in Birobidzhan, in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of the Soviet Union. His father Anatoly managed sports in the region and his mother Irena ran a school. In 1991 the family immigrated to Israel and settled in Kiryat Yam.

He became Israeli judo champion at 16 and held the title for about a decade. He won silver medals at the European Championships in 2004 and 2005 and competed for Israel at the 2004 Athens Olympics. After a 2006 injury and knee damage in 2007 he missed the 2008 Games, and he retired from judo in 2011.

In 2008 he was elected to the Netanya City Council and held the sports portfolio until 2012. He also chaired the Israeli Olympic athletes' committee and led a protest against the Israeli selection criteria for the Olympics.

He joined Yesh Atid in 2012 and was elected to the Knesset in 2013, then reelected in several elections. He sat on the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee and sponsored amendments on violence in sports, athlete insurance and patient rights. In 2021 he became Minister of Tourism, serving until December 2022, and in January 2023 he announced he would resign from the Knesset.