Omer Yankelevich ( he, עוֹמֶר יַנְקֵלֵבִיץ׳, born 25 May 1978) is an Israeli attorney, educator, social activist, and politician. She was the Minister of Diaspora Affairs and was a Member of the Knesset for the Blue and White from 2019 to 2021. She is a co-founder of the "Just Begun Foundation", which sponsors social initiatives to help integrate peripheral and marginalized populations in Israel, with an emphasis on the

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

sector. In 2019, she joined the Israel Resilience Party, which is part of the Blue and White political alliance, and was placed #23 on the faction's list for the April 2019 Knesset election. The Blue and White alliance gained 35 seats in the election, resulting in Yankelevich becoming a Member of the Knesset. She was subsequently elected to the Knesset as part of the Blue and White alliance in the September 2019 and March 2020 elections. In the

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

which comprised the

thirty-fifth government of Israel The thirty-fifth government of Israel ( he, מֶמְשֶׁלֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל הַשְׁלוֹשִׁים וְחָמֵשׁ, Mem'shelet Yisra'el HaShloshim VeHamesh), or the Netanyahu–Gantz government, was the government of Israel which w ...

, Yankelevich was named Minister of Diaspora Affairs, becoming the first-ever Haredi woman cabinet minister.

Early life and education

Omer Galinsky was born on 25 May 1978 to a secular family in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. She was named for her birthdate on the

Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

, which coincided that year with the Jewish holiday of

Lag BaOmer Lag BaOmer ( he, , ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. According to some Rishonim ...

. She has one younger brother. Her father, Yaakov (Yasha) Galinsky, a native of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, was an actor in the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the ce ...

, and later became a ''

baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lif ...

''. Her mother was born in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. During her youth, her parents volunteered in the Jewish communities in the Soviet Union, and at age 16, she taught Hebrew and Judaism in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

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 ...

. She attended

Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov ( he, בית יעקב also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; lit., House fJacob) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for Jewish girls throughout the world. Bais Yaak ...

for her elementary schooling, and went on to attend the Rabbi Wolf Teachers Seminary in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

. She received a teaching certificate at the

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

seminary for women and completed additional courses at the Shecheransky Seminary in Tel Aviv. Later, she took English teaching courses at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She graduated from

Ono Academic College Ono Academic College (''in Hebrew'': הקריה האקדמית אונו) is a private college located in Kiryat Ono, Israel. With over 14,000 students, the college is among Israel's fastest growing institutions of higher education. OAC"s stated ...

with a bachelor's of law (LL.B) with honors, and from

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

with a master's in law (LL.M) with distinction.

Career

She has practiced law since 2007. After passing the Bar, she worked as a legal assistant to a judge in the Jerusalem District Court for 13 years. She then became Chief of Staff of the Ministry for Social Equity. In her legal practice, she specializes in government relations and copyright. Yankelevich has taught at the Takhkemoni School in

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

and the Bat-Zion high school in

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

. Yankelevich is a co-founder of the "Just Begun Foundation" ( he, קרן רק התחלנו), which sponsors social initiatives to help integrate peripheral and marginalized populations, with an emphasis on the Haredi sector. Among the group's initiatives are the opening of an art gallery showcasing Haredi artists in a

flea market, and projects in theatre, film, media, and plastics and visual arts. Yankelevich has defended the Haredi population against the

Israel Women's Network Israel Women's Network (IWN) is a feminist non-partisan civil society organization founded in Jerusalem in 1984. IWN's mission is to advance the status of women in Israel by promoting equality through a range of projects and methods. Backgroun ...

and other liberal feminist groups that vilify it for its enactment of gender separation in institutes of higher learning and at public events.

Political career

In 2019, Yankelevich was chosen by

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel sin ...

to be a member of his

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 ...

, which was part of the Blue and White political alliance for the

April 2019 Israeli legislative election April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with ...

. She was placed #23 on the faction's list. Her appointment was seen as an attempt by Gantz to present the party's political orientation as centrist, rather than left, although her presence was not expected to pull in Haredi votes. With the Blue and White alliance gaining 35 seats in the election, Yankelevich became a Member of the Knesset. In the

of the

, Gantz appointed Yankelevich to serve as Minister of Diaspora Affairs, thus becoming the first-ever Haredi woman cabinet minister. She did not run for re-election in the

2021 elections Many elections occurred in 2021. The National Democratic Institute maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2021 United Nations Security Council election * 2021 national electoral calendar * 2021 local electoral calendar Africa * 2021 ...

. Yankelevich sponsored a Knesset bill to require consultation with Diaspora on matters regarding world Jewry. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, she led a rule change in Israel's entry policy, to allow visits of families of new immigrants.Diaspora Minister pushes rule change for parents of pregnant women
Jerusalem Post, April 13, 2021

Personal life

Yankelevich is a

Jew. She and her husband, Yaron, have five children, and reside in

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

. She speaks Hebrew, English,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and basic

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

References

External links

* * Amy Spiro
Israeli Diaspora Minister Omer Yankelevitch is up for a challenge
November 17, 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yankelevich, Omer 1978 births Living people 21st-century Israeli women politicians Bar-Ilan University alumni Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Haredi politicians Government ministers of Israel Israel Resilience Party politicians Israeli Haredim Israeli people of Latvian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Israeli women activists Israeli women lawyers Jewish activists Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Ono Academic College alumni Women educators Women government ministers of Israel Women members of the Knesset Jewish women activists Jewish women politicians