Meirav Ben-Ari ( he, מֵירַב בֶּן־אֲרִי‎, born 13 November 1975) is an Israeli politician. She currently serves 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

Yesh Atid Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses pr ...

and was previously a member of the Knesset for

Kulanu Kulanu ( he, כולנו, lit. ''All of Us'') was a centrist political party in Israel founded by Moshe Kahlon that focused on economic and cost-of-living issues. History The party was established on 27 November 2014 following months of spec ...

between 2015 and 2019.

Biography

Ben-Ari was born in

Raanana Ra'anana ( he, רַעֲנָנָּה, lit. "Fresh") is a city in the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel. It was founded in 1922 as an American-Jewish settlement, 1 km south of the village of Tabsur, where an important ...

and moved to Netanya with her family as a child. Her father, Rafael Ben-Ari (originally Ayubi) was an Iranian-Jewish immigrant to Israel and her mother, Esther Ben-Ari (née Sa'adon) was a native-born Israeli of Libyan-Jewish origin. During her Israel Defense Forces

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

she served in the

Education and Youth Corps The Israeli Education and Youth Corps ( he, חיל החינוך והנוער, ''Heil HaHinuh VeHaNo'ar'') is the IDF Manpower Directorate corps responsible for the education of soldiers and commanders in Israel's military. It is designed to instruc ...

, with her last post being the education officer of the Golani Brigade. She studied for a BA in law and government and a Master's degree in business administration at the

Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

. Between 2003 and 2004 she was head of the student union at the college. In 2005 she took place in the reality show "Needed: A Leader". She won the contest, winning five million

shekels Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...

. In the 2013 local elections she was fourth on the Rov HaIr list for

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 ...

City Council. She was elected to the council and given the portfolio for promoting youth. Prior to the

2015 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015. Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burun ...

she joined the new

party, and was placed tenth on its list. She was elected to the Knesset as the party won ten seats. She was placed sixth on the party's list for the April 2019 elections, but lost her seat when the party was reduced to four seats. In 2021 Ben-Ari joined

and was placed seventh on its list for the March 2021 elections. She re-entered the Knesset when the party won seventeen seats. She currently lives in

. She has a daughter and is the first single mother in the Knesset.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Ari, Meirav 1975 births Living people 21st-century Israeli women politicians Reichman University alumni Israeli Jews Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Libyan-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Kulanu politicians Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) People from Netanya People from Ra'anana Reality show winners Women members of the Knesset Yesh Atid politicians