Dan Eliyahu Ya'akov Illouz (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: דן אליהו יעקב אילוז) (born 21 February 1986) is a Canadian-born Israeli politician currently serving as a member of 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 ...

for the

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

party since January 2023. He was previously a city councillor in Jerusalem.

Early life and education

Illouz was born to Moroccan Jewish parents in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Canada. He has a degree in law from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, and a degree in public policy from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He moved to Israel from Montreal in 2009, at the age of 23.

Political career

Illouz became a member of Hitorerut, a political party in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and became a member of the Jerusalem City Council in March 2018 following the resignation of another councillor. He was subsequently elected to the council in the October 2018 municipal elections, and resigned from the council in 2021 as part of a rotation agreement with Yosef Spiezer. After resigning, Illouz served as the Israeli representative at the Zionist Organization of America. In 2022 Illouz decided to seek election to the

as a member of the

, participating in primaries held by the party ahead of an upcoming legislative election. Illouz ran for the reserved immigrant spot on the Likud list against then-incumbent MK (and immigrant from Ethiopia)

Gadi Yevarkan Desta "Gadi" Yevarkan ( he, דֵסְטַה "גָּדִי" יִבַרקָן, born 1 January 1981) is an Israeli politician. He was elected to the Knesset for Likud in 2020, having previously served as a Knesset member for the Blue and White allia ...

. Despite the fact that Yevarkan resigned from the Knesset to make himself eligible for the spot (which is reserved for newly incoming members of the Knesset), Illouz narrowly prevailed. The Likud received only 32 seats in the election, so Illouz as 33rd on the party slate did not enter the Knesset immediately. However, after the swearing-in of the

thirty-seventh government of Israel The thirty-seventh government of Israel is the current cabinet of Israel, formed on 29 December 2022 following the Knesset election on 1 November 2022. The coalition government consists of six parties—Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Religi ...

, several Likud ministers resigned their seats under Israel's

Norwegian law Norwegian law may refer to: *Norwegian Law (Israel), a law on the appointment of ministers and membership of the Knesset *Law of Norway Law in Norway follows a Civil law (legal system), civil law system. The Supreme Court of Norway, Supreme Court ...

, and Illouz entered the Knesset on 6 January 2023.

Personal life

Illouz married Bat-El Malka, then

Or Akiva Or Akiva ( he, אוֹר עֲקִיבָא) (''light of Akiva''–in memory of Rabbi Akiva who was tortured and killed at this locale) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, on the country's Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain. It is lo ...

's municipal architect, in 2019. In addition to Israeli citizenship, Illouz was previously a Canadian citizen.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Illouz, Dan 1986 births Living people Politicians from Montreal McGill University alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Likud politicians Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Canadian people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Israeli expatriates in France Canadian expatriates in France City councillors of Jerusalem