Yosef Burg
Encyclopedia
Yosef Shlomo Burg was an Israel
i politician. In 1949, he was elected to the first Knesset
, and served in many ministerial positions for the next 40 years. He was one of the founders of the National Religious Party
.
, Germany
. He attended the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin
and the University of Berlin from 1928 to 1931. He received a Doctorate in mathematics and logic from the University of Leipzig
in 1933. He continued to study at the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin
and was ordained as a rabbi
in 1938.
While at the University of Leipzig
, he joined the Young Mizrahi religious Zionist movement. He arranged Jewish prayer services in private homes after German synagogues were burned, and worked underground to help Jews escape to England and the Netherlands. His mother and grandmother died in Nazi concentration camps.
In 1939, he immigrated
to Mandate Palestine. He worked as teacher at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv
before moving to Jerusalem. There he become a research fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. Burg lived in the Rehavia
neighborhood of Jerusalem. His son, Avraham Burg
, was speaker of the fifteenth Knesset.
Burg died on 15 October 1999 at the age of 90 at the Sha'arei Tzedek Medical Center
.
, a religious-Zionist
party. Alongside three other religious parties, Hapoel HaMizrachi ran on a joint list called the United Religious Front
for the first Knesset elections
in 1949. The group won 16 seats and Burg took a seat in the Knesset, becoming Deputy Speaker.
In the 1951 elections
the party ran by itself, winning eight seats. Burg remained in the Knesset and became Minister of Health
in the third government
. In the fourth, fifth and sixth governments he served as Minister of Postal Services
, a position he retained until 1958.
In 1956 Hapoel HaMizrachi merged with their ideological twins from the Mizrachi party
to form the National Religious Party
(NRP). The party was a member of all governments until 1992, and as a key party member, Burg maintained a ministerial position in every Knesset until his resignation from the Knesset in 1986, holding the positions of Minister of Welfare, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister without Portfolio
and Minister of Religious Affairs.
In 1977, he became the President of the World Mizrachi Movement
.
Burg was famous for his erudite wit. Journalists dubbed his appearances in parliament "Burgtheater," after the famous playhouse in Vienna.
, Burg's most important legacy was trying to bridge the gulf between religious and secular Jews: "He was a religious man but he believed in compromise." Ehud Barak
said Burg took the path of moderation and tolerance, and showed a love for Jewish tradition.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician. In 1949, he was elected to the first Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, and served in many ministerial positions for the next 40 years. He was one of the founders of the National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
.
Biography
Yosef Shlomo Burg was born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He attended the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin
Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary
The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary was founded in Berlin on 22 October 1873 by Rabbi Dr. Azriel Hildesheimer for the training of rabbis in the tradition of Orthodox Judaism.-History:...
and the University of Berlin from 1928 to 1931. He received a Doctorate in mathematics and logic from the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
in 1933. He continued to study at the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and was ordained as a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
in 1938.
While at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, he joined the Young Mizrahi religious Zionist movement. He arranged Jewish prayer services in private homes after German synagogues were burned, and worked underground to help Jews escape to England and the Netherlands. His mother and grandmother died in Nazi concentration camps.
In 1939, he immigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Mandate Palestine. He worked as teacher at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
before moving to Jerusalem. There he become a research fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. Burg lived in the Rehavia
Rehavia
Rehavia is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya.-History:Rehavia was established on a large plot of land purchased in 1921 from the Greek Orthodox Church by the Palestine Land Development Company . The area was known at the time as Ginzaria, a native...
neighborhood of Jerusalem. His son, Avraham Burg
Avraham Burg
Avraham "Avrum" Burg is an Israeli author; he was formerly a member of the Knesset, a chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel and a Speaker of the Knesset.-Biography:...
, was speaker of the fifteenth Knesset.
Burg died on 15 October 1999 at the age of 90 at the Sha'arei Tzedek Medical Center
Sha'arei Tzedek Medical Center
The Shaare Zedek Medical Center is a major hospital in Jerusalem, Israel.- History :Shaare Zedek was the first large hospital in Jerusalem and is today the city's fastest growing hospital and the only major medical facility in the city's center...
.
Political career
In Palestine, Burg joined Hapoel HaMizrachiHapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...
, a religious-Zionist
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
party. Alongside three other religious parties, Hapoel HaMizrachi ran on a joint list called the United Religious Front
United Religious Front
The United Religious Front was a political alliance of the four major religious parties in Israel, as well as the Union of Religious Independents, formed to fight the 1949 elections.-History:...
for the first Knesset elections
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...
in 1949. The group won 16 seats and Burg took a seat in the Knesset, becoming Deputy Speaker.
In the 1951 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1951
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:¹ Rostam Bastuni, Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction. Bastuni later returned to Mapam whilst Berman and Sneh joined Maki. Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz left...
the party ran by itself, winning eight seats. Burg remained in the Knesset and became Minister of Health
Health Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Health is a ministry in the Israeli government. The current Minister of Health is Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud.There is occasionally a Deputy Minister of Health...
in the third government
Third government of Israel
The third government of Israel was formed by David Ben Gurion on 8 October 1951, more than two months after the elections. His Mapai party formed a coalition with Mizrachi, Hapoel HaMizrachi, Agudat Yisrael, Poalei Agudat Yisrael and the three Israeli Arab parties, the Democratic List for Israeli...
. In the fourth, fifth and sixth governments he served as Minister of Postal Services
Communications Minister of Israel
The Communications Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Communications and a relatively minor position in the Israeli cabinet. The post was established in 1952, and until 1970 was known as the Minister of Postal Services...
, a position he retained until 1958.
In 1956 Hapoel HaMizrachi merged with their ideological twins from the Mizrachi party
Mizrachi (political party)
Mizrachi was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day National Religious Party.-History:The Mizrachi movement was founded in 1902 in Vilnius as a religious Zionist organisation. It also had a trade union, Hapoel HaMizrachi, started in 1921...
to form the National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
(NRP). The party was a member of all governments until 1992, and as a key party member, Burg maintained a ministerial position in every Knesset until his resignation from the Knesset in 1986, holding the positions of Minister of Welfare, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
and Minister of Religious Affairs.
In 1977, he became the President of the World Mizrachi Movement
Mizrachi (Religious Zionism)
The Mizrachi is the name of the religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilnius at a world conference of religious Zionists called by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. Bnei Akiva, which was founded in 1929, is the youth movement associated with Mizrachi...
.
Burg was famous for his erudite wit. Journalists dubbed his appearances in parliament "Burgtheater," after the famous playhouse in Vienna.
Legacy
According to Shimon PeresShimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
, Burg's most important legacy was trying to bridge the gulf between religious and secular Jews: "He was a religious man but he believed in compromise." Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
said Burg took the path of moderation and tolerance, and showed a love for Jewish tradition.
External links
- Yosef Burg's biography Knesset website