Born in
Wolqayt in
Ethiopia, Bahaina's
aliyah to Israel started with a trek on foot with his family across the
Sudanese border, after which they waited for about a year and a half for immigration approval. On arriving in Israel, his family moved to
Or Akiva, and later to
Kiryat Gat. Bahaina studied in a few
yeshivas, and became an ordained rabbi. After moving to
Beersheba, he has worked in several socially-oriented positions to support immigrants from Ethiopia, eventually becoming the head rabbi of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Beersheba, numbering about 10,000, and a member of the local
city council. He was placed thirteenth on the Shas list for the
2006 Knesset elections. Although the party won only 12 seats, he entered the Knesset in April 2008, after
Shlomo Benizri was convicted. For the
2009 elections, Bahaina was placed twelfth on the party's list, but lost his seat when Shas was reduced to eleven seats. Bahaina lives in
Beersheba. He is married, with eight children. ==References==