Moshe Abutbul (politician)

Moshe Abutbul (born 14 July 1965) is an Israeli politician. He served as mayor of Beit Shemesh from 2008 to 2018, before being elected to the Knesset for the Shas party the following year.

This article is about politician. For footballer, see Moshe Abutbul (footballer).

Moshe Abutbul
Faction represented in the Knesset
2019–Shas
Personal details
Born (1965-07-14) 14 July 1965
Beersheba, Israel

Biography

Born in Beersheba, Moshe grew up in a traditional household and studied at a secular school. From age 9-14, he lived at Zion Blumenthal Orphanage, and later studied at the branch of the Itri Yeshiva in Beit Shemesh. He performed his military service as a driver in a tracker unit, and in the military rabbinate. When he married Esther in 1986, he settled in Beit Shemesh. The couple has eight children.

Abutbul was a radio broadcaster on Radio 10, an ultra-Orthodox pirate radio station, and acted in several films aimed at the ultra-Orthodox public. Over the years, he moved to public sector activity, and between 1993–2018, he served as a member of the Beit Shemesh City Council, in charge of the Engineering and Construction Division of the municipality, the Deputy Mayor, and his place on behalf of Shas.

He was elected mayor in November 2008, with 45.74% of voter votes.[1]

In 2013, Abutbul ran again for mayor, facing Eli Cohen, a candidate for the Jewish House party supported by the "Zionist bloc" parties. Abutbul was elected for a second term, with 51% of the vote. The election campaign was accompanied by tensions between ultra-Orthodox and secularists, and due to a genuine suspicion of forgery revealed by members of the ultra-Orthodox "power" faction, protests were held against Abutbul's victory.[2]

Finally, the court ordered re-election. They were held on 11 March 2014, and Abutbul was re-elected by an even larger margin (52%).[3]

In the local elections in 2018, Abutbul ran for a third term, and lost, by a gap of 533 votes, to Dr. Aliza Bloch.[4][5]

After the loss, he announced his retirement from public office life. Still, Abutbul was placed ninth on the list of Shas for the 21st Knesset, but, as Shas did not receive 9 seats, did not enter. He was stationed in the same place in elections to the 22nd Knesset, and subsequently entered the Knesset (as Shas received 9 seats in the elections).[6][7] Abutbul served on various committees during his tenure in the Knesset, most notably chairing the "Lobby for the Preservation of the Sabbath", leading 30+ Knesset members seeking to preserve the status quo of the sanctity of Saturday as the day of rest of the Jewish State of Israel.[8]

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "אלפי חילונים בבית שמש מחו נגד תוצאות הבחירות; טענות לזיופים". www.haaretz.co.il.
  3. https://www.gov.il/he/Departments/news/news-12-03-14. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "מהפך בבית שמש: עליזה בלוך ניצחה את ראש העיר החרדי". ynet. 1 November 2018.
  5. "In major upset, Bloch boots Abutbul to become first female mayor of Beit Shemesh". The Times of Israel. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  6. "Moshe Abutbul has been Placed Number 8 on Shas's Knesset List". Shemesh.co.il. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  7. "21st Knesset, we hardly knew ye. Meet the (almost identical) 22nd". The Times of Israel. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  8. https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=1029. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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