Alon Natan Schuster ( he, אַלּוֹן נָתָן שׁוּסְטֶר, born 2 March 1957) is an Israeli politician. He was mayor of

Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית שער הנגב, ''Mo'atza Azorit Sha'ar HaNegev'', ''lit.'' Gate of the Negev Regional Council), is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. ...

between 2002 and 2018 and the

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

from 2020 to 2021. He has been Deputy Minister of Defense since 2021.

Biography

Schuster was born in kibbutz

Mefalsim Mefalsim ( he, מְפַלְּסִים, ''lit.'' Road pavers) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near the Gaza Strip and covering 11,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

in 1957; his father was from Germany and mother from Argentina. After leaving school he did a

Service Year The Pre-Army Service Year ( he, שנת שירות, ''Shnat Sherut''), abbreviated Shin-Shin ( he, ש"ש), is a one-year voluntary service program for Israeli high school graduates prior to their service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Contrar ...

Sderot Sderot ( he, שְׂדֵרוֹת, , lit. ''Boulevards'', ar, سديروت) is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza (the c ...

before enlisting in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

for his national service, joining the

Nahal Brigade The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces main infantry brigades. From August 2019 to June 2021, the brigade was led by . On June 28, was appointed as the new commander. However, three days later, on July 1, Asman suddenly ...

. He lost the sight in one eye in 1981 after being wounded during preparations for the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

. After the war he studied at

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science and mathematics. He subsequently worked at the Sha'ar HaNegev Education Centre as a teacher and deputy principal. During the 1990s he served as secretary of Mefalsim. In 1998 he ran for election to become mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, but was beaten by

Shai Hermesh Shai Hermesh ( he, שי חרמש, born 23 March 1944) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Kadima between 2006 and 2013. As chairman of the Israeli branch of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Hermesh is also a member ...

. In March 2002 he became Hermesh's deputy, and was elected mayor of the council later in the year after Hermesh became treasurer of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. As a member of the Labor Party, he was given the 105th slot on the

Zionist Union The Zionist Union ( he, הַמַחֲנֶה הַצִיּוֹנִי, translit. ''HaMaḥaneh HaẒiyoni'', lit. ''the Zionist Camp'') was a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Party ...

list for the 2015 Knesset elections. Prior to the April 2019 elections he joined the new

Israel Resilience Party The Israel Resilience Party ( he, חוסן לישראל, Hosen LeYisrael, Resilience for Israel), is a liberal political party in Israel founded in December 2018 by Benny Gantz, former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. The ...

. After the party became part of the Blue and White alliance, he was given the twenty-seventh slot on the joint list,2019 Blue and White list
CEC and was subsequently elected to the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

as the alliance won 35 seats. He was re-elected in September 2019 and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. In May 2020 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture in the new government. He subsequently resigned his Knesset seat under the Norwegian Law and was replaced by Michal Cotler-Wunsh. He was re-elected to the Knesset in the March 2021 elections, and again in the November 2022 elections. He currently serves in the Knesset as a Member of the

National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to: * National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003) * National Unity Party (Albania) * National United Party (Armenia), defunct * Natio ...

. Schuster is married to Lizzie and has four children. He is a supporter of Hapoel Tel Aviv.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuster, Alon 1957 births Living people Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Deputy ministers of Israel Israel Resilience Party politicians Israeli educators Israeli people of Argentine-Jewish descent Israeli people of German-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Kibbutzniks Mayors of regional councils in Israel Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) People from Southern District (Israel)