Mazor Bahaina

Mazor Bahaina was born in 1973 in Wolkait

Mazor Bahaina was born on 12 September 1973 in the Wolkait area of Ethiopia. His father was murdered in Ethiopia. He crossed the border into Sudan on foot and waited about a year and a half for approval to immigrate, reaching Israel in 1982.

His family settled first in Or Akiva and later in Kiryat Gat. He studied at Yeshivat HaDarom in Rehovot and at the Torat Haim and Porat Yosef yeshivas, and was ordained as a rabbi. He regards Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as his teacher.

In Beersheba he held several posts supporting Ethiopian immigrants, including in the El HaMaayan school network and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. He became rabbi of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Beersheba and was elected to the city council. He also headed the Re'u Banim association, which promotes Ethiopian Jewish heritage.

He was 13th on the Shas list in the 2006 elections and entered the Knesset in April 2008 in place of Shlomo Benizri. In the 2009 elections he was 12th on the list but lost his seat when Shas won 11 seats. He then returned to serve as rabbi of the Ethiopian community in Beersheba, where he lives with his wife and 8 children.