Moshe Lion

Moshe Lion, or Moshe Leon (, born 6 October 1961), is an Israeli politician who is currently the Mayor of Jerusalem. He previously served as a member of the Jerusalem City Council, director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, Chairman of the Israel Railways, and head of the Jerusalem Development Authority. Lion is the first mayor of Jerusalem of Sephardi descent. Early life Moshe Lion was born in the Florentin neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel, and attended . His father's family comes from Thessaloniki, while his mother has roots in Aden. As a child, he moved with his family to Givatayim. Lion served in the Israel Defence Forces, where he was assigned to the military chaplaincy and sang with the IDF rabbinical choir. He occasionally still leads synagogue services. Lion graduated with a BA in economics and accounting from Bar-Ilan University, and interned in the office of Avigdor Yitzhaki, receiving his CPA in 1990. His brother, Dr. Nissim Lion, is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar-Ilan University. Professional career In 1991, Lion founded Yitzhaki & Co., together with Avigdor Yitzhaki and two other partners. Among his clients was the Likud movement, which he advised following their economic losses after losing the 1992 Knesset elections. He retired in 2017.