Haim Meir Drukman ( he, חיים דרוקמן), born 15 November 1932) is an Israeli

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and former politician. He serves as

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

of Ohr Etzion Yeshiva, and head of the Center for Bnei Akiva Yeshivot.

Biography

Drukman was born in

Kuty Kuty ( ua, Кути translit. ''Kuty'', german: Kutten, pl, Kuty, yi, קיטעוו translit. ''Kitev'', ro, Cuturi) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, on the Cheremosh river, in the Kosiv Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is one of the ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

(today in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). He made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

in 1944, after being saved from

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. He studied at the Aliyah Institute in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

and the

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929. History B ...

Yeshiva in

Kfar Haroeh Kfar Haroeh ( he, כְּפַר הָרֹאֶ"ה, ''lit.'' Haroeh Village) is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain between Hadera and Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regi ...

. He then transferred to the

Mercaz HaRav Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham ...

yeshiva in

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

, where he became a student of

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palest ...

. He served 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 ...

, in the Bnei Akiva

gar'in Gar'in (, ''lit.'' kernel) is a Hebrew term used for groups of people who moved together to Ottoman Palestine, British Palestine, and since 1948, Israel.Joel Beinin The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry- 2005 9774248902 "arrived in Israel while the mi ...

in the

Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...

. In 1952, he became a member of Bnei Akiva's National Directorate, and from 1955 until 1956, he served as an emissary of the organisation to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Rabbinic and pedagogic career

In 1964, Drukman founded the Ohr Etzion B'nei Akiva Yeshiva High school, where he remains Rosh Yeshiva. In 1977, he established the Ohr Etzion Yeshiva, for many years the largest Hesder Yeshiva in the country. In 1995, he founded the Ohr MeOfir academy for high school graduates of the Ethiopian community. Since 1996, he has also been the head of the Center for Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and ulpanot in Israel. In 1990, Drukman was appointed director of the newly created State Conversion Authority, which provides services to candidates for conversion to Judaism.

Political career

Drukman was first 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 ...

in the 1977 elections on the

National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

's (NRP) list. He was re-elected in 1981, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs on 11 August. However, as an opponent of the

Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retrea ...

, he lost the post on 2 March 1982. On 10 October 1983, he broke away from the NRP and attempted to form a Knesset faction by the name of Zionist Religious Camp, but was refused permission to do so by the House Committee. Instead, he sat as a single MK for the remainder of the Knesset term. In the run-up to the 1984 elections, he and

Avraham Verdiger Avraham Verdiger ( he, אברהם ורדיגר, 6 May 1921 – 27 November 2013) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for several ultra-Orthodox parties between 1965 and 1996. Biography Born in Łódź in Poland, Ve ...

formed a new party,

Morasha Morasha ( he, מורשה, ''Heritage''), later known as Morasha-Poalei Agudat Yisrael (), was a small, short-lived religious political party in Israel during the 1980s. History The Morasha party was formed in the run-up to the 1984 elections b ...

. It won two seats, taken by the two founders. Although the party joined the government, neither Drukman nor Verdiger were given cabinet posts. On 29 July 1986, Drukman left Morasha and returned to the NRP. Drukman played a leading role in the establishment of

Gush Emunim Gush Emunim ( he, גּוּשׁ אֱמוּנִים , ''Bloc of the Faithful'') was an Israeli ultranationalist Orthodox Jewish right-wing activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Gol ...

Awards and recognition

In 2012, he was selected to be awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

References

External links

*
Biography
on the Bnai Akiva of the United Kingdom website

on the Prime Minister's Office website {{DEFAULTSORT:Drukman, Haim 1932 births 20th-century Polish rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis Living people People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Polish Orthodox rabbis Polish emigrants to Israel Israeli Orthodox rabbis Mercaz HaRav alumni National Religious Party politicians Morasha politicians Israel Prize Rabbi recipients Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients Deputy ministers of Israel Rabbinic members of the Knesset Jewish Israeli politicians