Amir Ohana
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Amir Ohana ( he, אָמִיר אוֹחָנָה, born 15 March 1976) is an Israeli
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, former Shin Bet official and politician who currently serves 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 Likud. He previously held the posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Public Security. He was the first openly gay
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
member of the Knesset and the first openly gay man from Likud to serve in the Knesset. He is also the first openly gay person to be appointed as a minister in the Israeli government in 2019.


Early life

Ohana was born in
Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, the third son of Meir and Esther Ohana, immigrants from
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
. In his youth, his family moved to
Lehavim Lehavim ( he, לְהָבִים) is an affluent village in southern Israel. Founded in 1983 and located in the northern Negev around 15 km north of Beersheba, it is a local council. In it had a population of . History Lehavim, originally ...
and then to
Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...
. 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 ...
as a road accident investigator in the
Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...
. He served as part of a force securing traffic arteries in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
and as a road accident investigator in southern Israel, completed an officer's course, and was a commander of the Karni crossing. He also commanded a military police base. Ohana served a total of six years of regular service in the IDF, and is still a reservist. After leaving regular military service, he served in Shin Bet for another six years. Ohana studied law at the
College of Management Academic Studies The College of Management Academic Studies, a college located in the city of Rishon LeZion, Israel, is the largest college in Israel. Founded in 1978, COLMAN is the first non-subsidized, not-for-profit research academic institution in Israel to ...
, and after earning an
LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...
, he interned with the Israeli Justice Ministry in the State Prosecutor's Office. He then worked as a lawyer in criminal law for a decade.


Political career

The chairman of the Likud gay caucus '' Likud Pride'', Ohana gained 32nd slot on the Likud list for the 2015 Knesset elections in the party primaries, a place reserved for a member from Tel Aviv District. Although he failed to gain a seat when the party won 30 seats, he moved to 31st spot after minister and MK
Danny Danon Danny Danon (Hebrew: דני דנון, born 8 May 1971) served as Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and currently serves as Chairman of the World Likud. Danon previously served as a member of the Knesset from the Liku ...
resigned from the Knesset to assume position of Israel's envoy to the UN. Ohana eventually entered the Knesset on 27 December 2015 as a replacement for Silvan Shalom after he resigned amidst a sexual harassment scandal. During his first term in the Knesset, he served as a member of the Finance Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as well chairing the Lobby for Shaping the Gun-Carrying Policy in Israel and joining the Lobby for Medical Cannabis. He also became co-chair the Israel–Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group.Amir Ohana: Knesset Activities
Knesset
After being re-elected in the April 2019 elections he was appointed Minister of Justice in June, becoming the first openly LGBT individual to serve in the government. His appointment came after controversial comments from
Bezalel Smotrich Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (, born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli lawyer and far-right politician. The leader of the Religious Zionist Party, he previously served as a Knesset member for Yamina. Biography Bezalel Smotrich was born in Haspin, a re ...
, another contender for the office, saying that he would like to establish a
halachic state A halachic state ( he, מדינת הלכה, ''Medinat Halakha'') is a Jewish state governed by ''halakha'', Jewish religious law. Public opinion An opinion poll released in March 2016 by the Pew Research Center found high support for a halach ...
governed by Jewish religious law. Ohana was considered a Netanyahu loyalist and supported exempting the prime minister from prosecution in the
Netanyahu corruption investigations Benjamin Netanyahu served three times as Israel's Prime Minister from 1996–1999, 2009–2021, and from 2022 onwards. His fourth and fifth term as prime minister was overshadowed by ongoing investigation into alleged bribery, fraud and breach ...
. He was re-elected in September 2019 and
March 2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
. In May 2020 he was appointed Minister of Public Security in the new government. In July 2020 he resigned from the Knesset under the
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 was replaced by Amit Halevi. For 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 ...
, Ohana was placed eighteenth on Likud's list, and returned to the Knesset, as Likud won thirty seats. He left the cabinet after a new government was formed, with Likud going into opposition. On 22 November 2022, it was reported that Prime Minister-designate
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
was considering appointing Ohana as
Foreign Minister of Israel The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...
in Netanyahu's incoming government. The potential appointment would make Ohana the first LGBT Foreign Minister in Israeli history.


Views and opinions

Ohana is a supporter of loosening the policy on carrying firearms in Israel in order to allow more armed people on streets for prevention and fast reaction to terror attacks. After entering the Knesset, Ohana inaugurated the caucus to lobby and promote this cause. When opposition members of Knesset in February 2016 proposed several bills intended to improve the gay community’s status such as recognizing bereaved
widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
s, banning
conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
, recognizing
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
contracts and to train health professionals to deal with gender and sexual inclination issues, Ohana left the session without voting; he said he could not vote against these bills, but he did not want to violate the party line. He is a board member of Tadmor – Eretz Yisrael loyalists group within the Likud.


Personal life

Ohana and his partner, Alon Hadad, have a son and a daughter together. Their children were born with a surrogate mother in the US state of
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. They live in Tel Aviv.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohana, Amir 1976 births Living people 20th-century Israeli military personnel 21st-century Israeli lawyers College of Management Academic Studies alumni Israeli Jews Israeli officers Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Gay politicians Jewish human rights activists Jewish Israeli politicians Jewish military personnel LGBT conservatism LGBT Jews LGBT members of the Knesset LGBT rights activists from Israel Likud politicians Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) 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–) Ministers of Justice of Israel Ministers of Public Security of Israel People from Rishon LeZion People of the Shin Bet Politicians from Beersheba 21st-century LGBT people Lawyers from Beersheba