Yosef Burg

1909 - 1999

Israeli politician.

Born and educated in Germany, Burg received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Leipzig and later was ordained as a rabbi at the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. Emigrating to Palestine in 1939, he was a research fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 1945 to 1949, he worked in Paris as director of the Religious Rescue Projects in Europe, caring for Holocaust survivors.

He served in the Knesset from 1949 until 1988. He helped found the National Religious Party (NRP). From 1951 to 1986 Burg served in every Israeli government; he was minister of health (1951 - 1952), posts (1952 - 1958), social welfare (1959 - 1970), interior (1970 - 1984), and religious affairs (1984 - 1986). He was relatively moderate on Arab-Israel relations. As a member of Menachem Begin's 1977 Likud government, he participated in negotiations with Egypt following the Camp David Accords. Burg resigned from the government in October 1986, to make way for younger leadership when Yitzhak Shamir succeeded Shimon Peres as prime minister in the rotation of the National Unity government.

In 1977 Burg was elected president of the World Mizrahi Movement. He was selected as a member of the Presidium of the Zionist Actions Committee in 1992. He died in October 1999.

Bibliography

Jewish Agency for Israel, Department for Jewish Zionist Education. "Yosef Burg." Available from http://www.jafi.org.il/education

Rolef, Susan Hattis, ed. Political Dictionary of the State of Israel, 2d edition. New York: Macmillan, 1993.

— ZACHARY KARABELL UPDATED BY GREGORY S. MAHLER

Yosef Burg
Date of birth	31 January 1909
Place of birth	Dresden, Germany
Year of aliyah	1939
Date of death	15 October 1999 (aged 90)
Place of death	Jerusalem, Israel
Knesset(s)	1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th
Party	National Religious Party
Former parties	Hapoel HaMizrachi, United Religious Front
Gov't roles (current in bold)	Minister of Health Minister of Postal Services Minister of Welfare Minister of Internal Affairs Minister of Religious Affairs Minister without Portfolio

This article is about an Israeli politician. For other people with similar names, see Josef Burg.

Dr Yosef Shlomo Burg (Hebrew: יוסף שלמה בורג‎, born 31 January 1909, died 15 October 1999) was a long-serving Israeli politician and Rabbi.

Biography

Born in Dresden, Germany, he attended the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin and the University of Berlin from 1928 to 1931. He received a Doctorate in philosophy from the University of Leipzig in 1933. He continued to study at the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin and became a Rabbi in 1938. In 1939, he made aliyah to become a research fellow at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In Israel, Burg joined Hapoel HaMizrachi, 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 and became 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.

He is the father of Avraham Burg, who was speaker of the fifteenth Knesset.

Dr.Josef Burg died on October 15th 1999 at 90 at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

References

• "Yosef Burg". The State of Israel. http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=288. Retrieved July 29 2005. 
• "Dr Yosef Burg". The Department for Jewish Zionist Education. http://www.jafi.org.il/education/news/yburgbio.html. Retrieved July 29 2005. 

External links

• Yosef Burg Knesset website
• Yosef Burg's biography Knesset website (English)

v • d • e Communications Ministers of Israel Nurock (1952) · Burg (1952–58) · Barzilai (1958–59) · Mintz (1960–61) · Sasson (1961–67) · Yeshayahu (1967–69) · Rimalt (1969–70) · Peres (1970–74) · Uzan (1974) · Rabin (1974–75) · Uzan (1975–77) · Begin (1977) · Amit (1977–78) · Moda'i (1979–80) · Aridor (1981) · Tzipori (1981–84) · Rubinstein (1984–87) · Yaacobi (1987–90) · Pinhasi (1990–92) · Shahal (1992–93) · Aloni (1993–96) · Livnat (1996–99) · Ben-Eliezer (1999–2001) · Rivlin (2001–03) · Sharon (2003) · Olmert (2003–05) · Itzik (2005) · Hirschson (2006) · Atias (2006–2009) · Kahlon (2009–)

v • d • e Health Ministers of Israel Shapira (1948-51) · Burg (1951-52) · Sapir (1952-53) · Serlin (1953-55) · Yosef (1955) · Barzilai (1955-61) · Shapira (1961-66) · Barzilai (1966-69) · Givati (1969-70) · Shem-Tov (1970-77) · Shostak (1977-84) · Gur (1984-86) · Arbeli-Almozlino (1986-88) · Tzur (1988-90) · Olmert (1990-92) · Ramon (1992-94) · Rabin (1994) · Sneh (1994-96) · Hanegbi (1996) · Matza (1996-99) · Benizri (1999-2000) · Milo (2000-01) · Dahan (2001-02) · Sharon (2002) · Dahan (2002-03) · Naveh (2003-06) · Edri (2006) · Ben-Yezri (2006-09) · Netanyahu (2009-)

v • d • e Internal Affairs Ministers of Israel Gruenbaum (1948-49) · Shapira (1949-52) · Rokach (1952-55) · Shapira (1955) · Bar-Yehuda (1955-59) · Shapira (1959-70) · Meir (1970) · Burg (1970-74) · Hillel (1974) · Burg (1974-76) · Hillel (1977) · Burg (1977-84) · Peres (1984) · Peretz (1984-87) · Shamir (1987-88) · Deri (1988-93) · Rabin (1993) · Deri (1993) · Rabin (1993-95) · Baram (1995) · Libai (1995) · Barak (1995) · Ramon (1995-96) · Suissa (1996-99) · Sharansky (1999-2000) · Ramon (2000-01) · Yishai (2001-02) · Sharon (2002) · Yishai (2002-03) · Poraz (2003-04) · Pines-Paz (2005) · Sharon (2004-06) · Bar-On (2006-07) · Sheetrit (2007-09)) · Yishai (from 2009)

v • d • e Religious Services Ministers of Israel Maimon (1948-51) · Shapira (1951-58) · Toledano (1958-60) · Warhaftig (1961-74) · Rafael (1974) · Zadok (1974) · Rafael (1974-76) · Zadok (1977) · Abuhatzira (1977-81) · Burg (1981-84) · Peres (1984) · Burg (1984-86) · Hammer (1986-90) · Shaki (1990-92) · Rabin (1992-95) · Sheetrit (1995-96) · Netanyahu (1996) · Suissa (1996-97) · Netanyahu (1997) · Hammer (1997-98) · Netanyahu (1998) · Levy (1998) · Suissa (1998-99) · Cohen (1999-2000) · Beilin (2000-01) · Ohana (2001-03) · Sharon (2003) · Cohen (2008-09) · Margi (2009-)

v • d • e Welfare and Social Services Ministers of Israel Levin (1948-52) · Shapira (1952-58) · Naftali (1959) · Burg (1959-70) · Hasani (1970-74) · Shem-Tov (1974) · Hasani (1974-75) · Rabin (1975) · Burg (1975) · Hammer (1975-76) · Baram (1977) · Begin (1977) · Katz (1977-81) · Abuhatzira (1981-82) · Uzan (1982-84) · Katsav (1984-88) · Shamir (1988-90) · Milo (1990) · Shamir (1990-92) · Rabin (1992) · Namir (1992-96) · Yishai (1996-2000) · Cohen (2000-01) · Benizri (2001-02) · Sharon (2002) · Benizri (2002-03) · Orlev (2003-04) · Olmert (2006-07) · Herzog (2007-)

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