Zevulun Orlev
Encyclopedia
Zevulun Orlev is an Israel
i politician and a former leader of the National Religious Party
. He was Minister of Welfare & Social Services (March 2003 - November 2004), and is currently a Member of the Knesset for the The Jewish Home
party. Orlev is a decorated war hero who received the Medal of Distinguished Service
in the Yom Kippur War
.
, Orlev studied humanities and social sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, before training to be a teacher at Moreshet Yaakov College. During his national service he became a Sergeant, and was awarded a Medal of Distinguished Service
for valour during the Yom Kippur War
. He later worked as Director General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and Director General of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Orlev lives in Jerusalem's Givat Mordechai
neighborhood with his wife, Nira. They have four children.
list. After being re-elected in the 2003 elections, Orlev was appointed Minister of Welfare and Social Services in Ariel Sharon
's government. During the crisis in the party over the Gaza disengagement plan
, Orlev led the camp which believed staying in the government, rather than leaving the coalition, was the best option. In response, NRP leader Effi Eitam
called Orlev a "Meimad
nik". When Eitam and Yitzhak Levy
quit the government in 2004, Orlev and many NRP members refused to leave the coalition. Orlev then succeeded in taking control of the party, resulting in Eitam and Levy leaving to form the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party (since renamed Ahi), which would later join the National Union
.
Orlev was re-elected in the 2006 elections. Prior to the 2009 elections
the NRP was dissolved and its members joined the Jewish Home
. Orlev won second place on the new party's list, and retained his seat in the subsequent elections.
In 2009 the Knesset debated a Private Members Bill proposed by Orlev, providing for imprisonment of anyone who denied that Israel was a Jewish and democratic state
. The bill passed its preliminary reading.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician and a former leader of the National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
. He was Minister of Welfare & Social Services (March 2003 - November 2004), and is currently a Member of the Knesset for the The Jewish Home
The Jewish Home
-External links:*...
party. Orlev is a decorated war hero who received the Medal of Distinguished Service
Medal of Distinguished Service
The Medal of Distinguished Service is an Israeli military decoration.- Overview :The medal has instituted in 1970 by act of law in the Knesset and could also be awarded also for actions performed before 1970....
in the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
.
Background
Born in RehovotRehovot
Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
, Orlev studied humanities and social sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, before training to be a teacher at Moreshet Yaakov College. During his national service he became a Sergeant, and was awarded a Medal of Distinguished Service
Medal of Distinguished Service
The Medal of Distinguished Service is an Israeli military decoration.- Overview :The medal has instituted in 1970 by act of law in the Knesset and could also be awarded also for actions performed before 1970....
for valour during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
. He later worked as Director General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and Director General of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Orlev lives in Jerusalem's Givat Mordechai
Givat Mordechai
Givat Mordechai, is a Jewish neighborhood in southwest-central Jerusalem, Israel, midway between the neighborhoods of Nayot and Malcha. The neighborhood was named after an American philanthropist, Maxwell Abbell of Chicago...
neighborhood with his wife, Nira. They have four children.
Political career
He was first elected to the Knesset in the 1999 elections on the National Religious PartyNational Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
list. After being re-elected in the 2003 elections, Orlev was appointed Minister of Welfare and Social Services in Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
's government. During the crisis in the party over the Gaza disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
, Orlev led the camp which believed staying in the government, rather than leaving the coalition, was the best option. In response, NRP leader Effi Eitam
Effi Eitam
Efraim "Effi" Eitam is an Israeli politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party, he later led a breakaway faction, Ahi, which merged into Likud in 2009. He served as a member of the Knesset between 2003 and 2009.-Biography:...
called Orlev a "Meimad
Meimad
Meimad is a left-wing religious Zionist political party in Israel. Founded in 1999, it is based on the ideology of the Meimad movement founded in 1988 by Rabbi Yehuda Amital. At the national level, it was in alliance with the Labour Party, and until the 2006 elections, received 10th spot on the...
nik". When Eitam and Yitzhak Levy
Yitzhak Levy
Rabbi Yitzhak Levy is an Israeli rabbi and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party and the Ahi faction of the National Union between 1988 and 2009...
quit the government in 2004, Orlev and many NRP members refused to leave the coalition. Orlev then succeeded in taking control of the party, resulting in Eitam and Levy leaving to form the Renewed Religious National Zionist Party (since renamed Ahi), which would later join the National Union
National Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
.
Orlev was re-elected in the 2006 elections. Prior to the 2009 elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
the NRP was dissolved and its members joined the Jewish Home
The Jewish Home
-External links:*...
. Orlev won second place on the new party's list, and retained his seat in the subsequent elections.
In 2009 the Knesset debated a Private Members Bill proposed by Orlev, providing for imprisonment of anyone who denied that Israel was a Jewish and democratic state
A Jewish and Democratic State
"A Jewish and Democratic State" is the definition of the nature and character of the State of Israel, as the Jewish nature was first defined within the Declaration of Independence of 1948, and the "Democratic" character was first officially added to the "Jewish" nature in the amendment to the Basic...
. The bill passed its preliminary reading.