Ya'akov Ben-Yezri

Ya'akov Ben-Yezri was born in 1927 in Fez

Ben-Yezri was born on 1 October 1927 in Fez, Morocco, into a family of 13 brothers and sisters. He finished school with a full matriculation certificate in 1940. He moved to Israel with his wife on 30 November 1949 and lived in immigrant camps in Haifa, a transit camp and then housing in Pardes Hanna.

He served in the IDF as a career soldier and left with the rank of master sergeant. He then worked for the postal authority, the Jewish Agency and the Israel cattle breeders' association.

From 1955 to 1963 he sat on the Pardes Hanna local council for Mapai. He worked at Clalit health services from 1958 to 1993, first as a clinic clerk and from 1974 as a district director. He led Clalit workers' groups and from 2001 chaired the pensioners' organization of the Histadrut central pension fund.

A longtime Labor Party member, he was expelled from the party in 2002. He joined the Gil list and was elected to the 17th Knesset in 2006, becoming Minister of Health in Ehud Olmert's government. He caused controversy when he smoked during a television interview.

In 2009 Gil did not pass the electoral threshold and he lost his seat. His wife Hava died in 2008, and he had 2 sons. He died on 17 February 2018 and was buried in Pardes Hanna.