Menachem Porush (; 2 April 1916 – 22 February 2010) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for

Agudat Yisrael Agudat Yisrael (; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party representing Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews in Poland, originating in the Agudath Israel movement ...

and its alliances between 1959 and 1975, and again from 1977 until 1994.

Biography

Early life

Porush, a seventh-generation Jerusalemite, was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1916 to Rabbi Moshe Glickman-Porush, and studied at the

Etz Chaim Yeshiva Etz Chaim Yeshiva (, ''Yeshivat Etz Hayyim'', lit. "Tree of Life") was an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem. History Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah that was establish ...

. In 1932 he was expelled from Etz Chaim for unseemly conduct at a

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

party, where he allegedly slighted chief rabbi

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah (), was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbina ...

. (He later stated that he did not know ahead of time that Rabbi Kook would be denigrated in the Purim play.) After that he went abroad to work as a correspondent for Orthodox Jewish publications, returning in 1938. By 1949, he had become assistant editor of the newspaper ''

Kol Yisrael ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' (, lit. "Voice of Israel"; also Israel Radio) was Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, and later the Israel ...

''. In 1954 he became a member of the Agudat Yisrael Center in Israel, and a member of the Executive of the

World Agudath Israel World Agudath Israel (), usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism. It succeeded ''Agudath Shlomei Emunei Yisroel'' (Union of Faithful Jewry) in 1912. Its base of s ...

. In 1955, he was appointed chairman of the Agudat Yisrael Center in Israel. During this time, Porush also founded Children's Town to promote Jewish education and combat missionary influence.

1959-1994

In 1959, he was elected for the first time to the Knesset on the

Religious Torah Front The Religious Torah Front (, ''Hazit Datit Toratit'') was a political alliance in Israel composed of Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael. History The Religious Torah Front was formed when the Ultra-orthodox parties Agudat Yisrael and Poalei ...

list, an alliance of Agudat Yisrael and

Poalei Agudat Yisrael Poalei Agudat Yisrael () was a trade union and Jewish political party in the Second Polish Republic and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew abbreviation (Hebrew: or ). History Poalei Agudas Izrael wa ...

. He was re-elected in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

. Between 1969 and 1974 he also served as deputy head of the Jerusalem City Council, and in 1973 he established Kiryat HaYeled, an educational center for

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

children. Although he retained his seat in the

1973 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1973. Africa * 1973 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1973 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1973 Ethiopian general election * 1973 Gabonese general election * 1973 Republic of the Congo con ...

, he resigned from the Knesset on 23 November 1975, and was replaced by Shlomo-Ya'akov Gross. He returned to the Knesset following the

1977 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

, and was re-elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. The same year, Porush defied the Gerrer Rebbe and Council of Torah Sages, who demanded he give up his Knesset seat. In response, dozens of Gerrer Hasidim stormed into his hotel, beat him up and destroyed the place. He commented that the event reminded him of the

1929 riots Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

. On 29 September 1984 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, a post he held until 2 December the following year. After re-election in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, he was re-appointed to the post on 19 November 1990. He retained his seat in the 1992 elections, but resigned from the Knesset for a second and final time on 28 June 1994, and was replaced by Avraham Verdiger. He was a member of the Knesset Education and Culture Committee from the Fourth to Ninth Knessets, and of the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee from the Fifth to Eighth Knessets. In the Ninth and Tenth Knessets he served as chairman of the Labor and Welfare Committee, and in the Twelfth Knesset as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and the Interior and Environment Committee.

Personal

His son,

Meir Porush Meir Porush (; born 11 June 1955) is an Israeli politician who has served as a member of the Knesset for the Haredi Agudat Yisrael faction of United Torah Judaism in several spells since 1996. He served as the Deputy Minister of Education. Biog ...

, followed him into politics as a member of the Jerusalem City Council and the Knesset for

United Torah Judaism United Torah Judaism (, ''Yahadut HaTora'') is a Haredi, religious conservative political alliance in Israel. The alliance, consisting of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, was first formed in 1992, in order to maximize Ashkenazi Haredi repr ...

. Porush was a longtime op-ed columnist for the Brooklyn-based

Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Judaism, Modern Orthodox Jewish community. History The ''Jewish Press'' was co-founded in 1960 by Albert Klass and his brothe ...

weekly newspaper.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porush, Menachem 1916 births 2010 deaths Agudat Yisrael politicians Burials at Har HaMenuchot Deputy mayors of Jerusalem Deputy ministers of Israel Haredi rabbis in Israel Israeli Haredim Israeli journalists Haredi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Politicians from Jerusalem Rabbinic members of the Knesset Rabbis in Jerusalem Haredi rabbis in Mandatory Palestine Religious Torah Front politicians United Torah Judaism politicians City councillors of Jerusalem Etz Chaim Yeshiva (Jerusalem) alumni