 In Israel's first elections in 1949 he was elected to the Knesset as a member of the United Religious Front, an alliance of Agudat Yisrael, Poalei Agudat Yisrael, Mizrachi (Pinkas' party) and Hapoel HaMizrachi, and served as chairman of the influential finance committee.In 1950, he was also elected Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv.In the 1951 elections Mizrachi ran alone, and Pinkas retained his seat, though the party won only two mandates.