Michal Cotler-Wunsh ( he, מיכל קוטלר-וונש, born 18 December 1970) is an Israeli politician. She served 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 Blue and White alliance from 2020 to 2021.

Biography

Cotler-Wunsh was born in Jerusalem; her mother Ariela Ze'evi was secretary of

Gahal Gahal ( he, גח"ל, an acronym for ''Gush Herut–Liberalim'' (Hebrew: ), ''lit.'' ''Freedom–Liberals Bloc'') was the main right-leaning political alliance in Israel, ranging from the centre-right to right-wing, from its founding in 1965 until ...

and

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 ...

during

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

's leadership. When she was eight years old, her family moved to

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 ...

after her mother married a Canadian,

Irwin Cotler Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, OQ (born May 8, 1940) is a retired Canadian politician who was Member of Parliament for Mount Royal from 1999 to 2015. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal gov ...

.Her Father Fought for Mandela, Now She’s Fighting to Become an Israeli Lawmaker
Haaretz, 31 January 2020 After leaving high school, she returned to Israel to enrol at 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 ...

. A year later she began her national service 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 ...

, training new recruits. She returned to the Hebrew University to complete a law degree, after which she began working at the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. After 13 years in Israel, Cotler-Wunsh moved back to Canada, where she earned a master's degree at

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 taught at the university. A decade after leaving Israel, she and her family returned. She was appointed to the group writing a manifesto for the new

Telem Telem can be any of the following: *In the Hebrew Bible: **a porter of the temple in the time of Ezra (10:24). **a town in the southern border of Judah (Josh. 15:24); probably the same as Telaim. * Telem (1981 political party), a former political p ...

party of

Moshe Ya'alon Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon ( he, משה יעלון; born Moshe Smilansky on 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 ...

, which was established in early 2019. After Telem joined the Blue and White alliance, she was placed forty-sixth on its list for the April 2019 elections, in which it won 35 seats. She was given the same spot for the September 2019 elections, again failing to win a seat. However, she was moved up to thirty-sixth for the March 2020 elections. Although the alliance won only 33 seats, she entered the Knesset on 19 June as a replacement for

Alon Schuster Alon Natan Schuster ( he, אַלּוֹן נָתָן שׁוּסְטֶר, born 2 March 1957) is an Israeli politician. He was mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council between 2002 and 2018 and the Minister of Agriculture from 2020 to 2021. He has ...

, who had resigned his seat under the Norwegian Law after being appointed to the cabinet. Between the election and her entry to the Knesset, she defected to the

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 ...

following a split in the Blue and White alliance. She announced on 29 December that she would be leaving the party.MK Cotler-Wunsh quits Blue and White, says she's ‘committed to continue serving’
The Times of Israel, 29 December 2020

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotler-Wunsh, Michal 1970 births Living people Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni Israel Resilience Party politicians Israeli civil servants Israeli expatriates in Canada Jewish Israeli politicians McGill University alumni McGill University faculty Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) People from Jerusalem Telem (2019 political party) politicians Women members of the Knesset