Mizrahi activist David Levy – a Likud deputy PM and foreign minister – dies at age 86

David Levy, a longtime Likud politician known for breaking the glass ceiling for Mizrahi Jews in Israeli politics, dies at the age of 86.

Levy played a central role in breaking down social and economic barriers to Mizrahi political involvement in the 1970s and 1980s, in addition to solidifying Likud’s working-class Mizrahi voter base, which remains until today.

Born in Rabat, Morocco, Levy immigrated with his family to Israel in 1957, at age 20. They settled in Beit She’an, a development town, where he lived until his death.

Starting out in municipal politics, Levy was first elected to the Knesset in 1969. Following a landslide victory in 1977 for Begin’s Herut party, now modern-day Likud, Levy was able to leverage his proximity to the Mizrahi working class and act as an intermediary between it and the prime minister.

His effort to secure economic benefits for Mizrahi communities is perhaps the most enduring aspect of his legacy. Likud’s resulting success in creating a Mizrahi middle class solidified the community as its core constituency, an electoral trend that continues to this day.

After 37 consecutive years in the Knesset, during which he rose to the post of deputy prime minister and served three times as foreign minister, Levy lost his seat in the 2006 elections, subsequently ending his political career. He is survived by his wife Rachel and 12 children, including politician Orly Levy-Abekasis, who was most recently a Knesset member for the Likud party, but has since exited politics.