Rabbi Haim Amsalem, born on October 12, 1959, in Oran, French Algeria, to David Amsalem and Freha (Paraha) Amsalem, who had immigrated from Morocco, moved with his family to Lyon, France, at six months old and to Israel in 1970 at age 11. He received rabbinical ordination in 1980 from Yeshivat Kisse Rahamim, where he later served as Rosh Yeshiva, became a certified rabbinical legal representative (to'en rabbani) in 1990, and was ordained as city rabbi in 1993 by Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. His rabbinical career included serving as rabbi of Sharsheret moshav for seven years after his 1982 marriage, neighborhood rabbi in Netivot, head of yeshivot and kollelim such as 'Ohalei Yaakov ve Tifereth Israel,' 'Baba Sali' kollel, and the 'Shirei David' kollel he founded in Jerusalem's Har Nof, as well as rabbi of the Sephardic community Heichal Haness in Geneva, Switzerland, until entering politics. He published Sephardic manuscripts like P'nei Moshe and Ya'amod Pinchas, and authored books on halakha including Birkat Haim (1996), Minhat Haim (2009–2020), and Zera Yisrael (2010) on conversion. Politically, he was a Shas Knesset member from 2006 to 2012 and independent from 2012 to 2013, elected to the 17th (2006) and 18th (2009) Knessets, before leaving Shas in 2011 due to policy rifts and founding the Am Shalem movement, which he chaired and which contested elections in 2013, 2021, and 2022 but failed to meet thresholds; he also considered Jewish Home primaries, joined Likud in 2014, ran unsuccessfully for Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem in 2014, joined HaBayit HaYehudi in 2016, and placed #2 on the Zehut list for the 21st Knesset in 2019 (which failed threshold). A former Shas Knesset member and chairman of the Am Shalem movement, he is known for his opposition to religious coercion in Israel, advocacy for Haredi integration into the workforce and IDF/national service (with all four sons serving in combat roles), leniency in conversions especially for IDF soldiers and Jewish descendants via his book Zera Yisrael and founding of Giyur keHalacha and the Ahavat HaGer rabbinical court, criticism of Haredi extremism, full-time kollel study for most, and retroactive conversion annulments. He faced controversies including attacks from Ovadia Yosef and Haredi rabbis labeling him a 'heretic,' threats requiring Knesset protection, and received praise from the Movement for Quality Government with a 2011 award. Personally, he married Hannah (granddaughter of Rabbi Nissim Cohen of Djerba) in 1982 and has eight children, including Efrat Shokron (media personality); he resides in Har Nof, Jerusalem.