Former minister Yosef Shapira died Saturday after a long battle with a serious illness. Shapira passed away at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer. He was 87. Shapira, who was one of the leaders of the National Religious Party, which later became Habayit Hayehudi, served as a minister without portfolio on behalf of the right-wing religious Zionist Morasha faction between 1984 and 1988, during the unity government headed by Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir. After the National Religious Party's failure during the 1981 elections for the 10th Knesset, Shapira, together with leading national religious Rabbi Haim Drukman, formed the short-lived National Religious Camp party. Prior to entering politics, Shapira headed the Bnei Akiva youth movement for 20 years, and served as head of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Department. "I was privileged to know a man of action, an educator who worked tirelessly to instill values in the future generations of religious Zionism and ensure that they integrate in every aspect of Israeli society," Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi), who served as Shapira's assistance in the 1980s, said Saturday. Shapira was born in Jerusalem and lived in Kibbutz Ein Tzurim in Gush Etzion. He was laid to rest on Sunday afternoon at the Segula cemetery in Petach Tikva.
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Former minister, Bnei Akiva chief Yosef Shapira dies
Former head of Bnei Akiva youth movement, who served as head of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Department and a minister without portfolio during the 1984-1988 unity government, passes away at the age of 87 • Minister Ariel: He was a man action, an educator.