Member of Parliament since 1988 and member of several Knesset committees including the Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees. He served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, until June 2007.Born in Morocco, he emigrated to Israel at the age of four. He was elected Mayor of his town Sderot in 1983, bringing the left back to power. He publicly voiced his support for an independent Palestinian State and led peace-promoting initiatives between residents of the town and their neighbors in the Gaza Strip.
For a reasonably open world
