Ya'akov Margi

Ya'akov Margi (יַעֲקֹב מַרְגִּי, born 18 November 1960) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as the Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs. Margi also serves as a member of the Knesset for Shas.

Biography
Margi was born in Rabat in Morocco and brought to Israel during Operation Yachin in 1962.

Between 1993 and 2003, he served as chairman of the local religious council in Beersheba. Since 2001, he has been the director general of Shas. He was first elected to the Knesset in 2003. After retaining his seat in the 2006 elections, Margi served as group chairperson of the party's faction at the Knesset. He also served briefly as chairman of the House Committee.

He retained his seat again in the 2009 elections, having been placed sixth on the Shas list, and was appointed Minister of Religious Services in the Netanyahu government.

Margi lives in Sde Tzvi, a moshav in Southern Israel. He is married, and a father of two.

During Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Israel, he wrote a letter to the pontiff demanding that he clearly condemn the purveyors of Holocaust denial and antisemitism.