Ofer Shelah (; born 9 February 1960) is an Israeli journalist and politician. He served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for

Yesh Atid Yesh Atid (, ) is a centrist political party in Israel. It was founded in 2012 by former TV journalist Yair Lapid, the son of the former Shinui party politician and Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid. In 2013 the first election it conte ...

from 2013 until 2020.

Early life and military service

Shelah was born in

Kiryat Bialik Kiryat Bialik (, also Qiryat Bialik) is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. The city was established on July 18, 1934, during the Fifth Aliyah. It is one of the five Krayot suburbs to the north of Haifa. In it had a population of . The city ...

. He enlisted in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

in 1977 as a soldier in the

Paratroopers Brigade The 35th Paratroopers Brigade (, ''Hativat HaTzanhanim'') is an Israeli military airborne infantry brigade. It is a selective unit, which accepts new recruits following physical tryouts and interviews, and consists of volunteers. It forms a m ...

, and in 1979 became an officer. He served as a

platoon leader A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank ...

and as an

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

in the paratroopers, and took part in various raids against PLO camps in Lebanon. After he was honourably discharged he fought as a platoon leader and as

company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...

in reserve Paratroopers Brigade in the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

and lost an eye in Lebanon in 1983. He later published a book about his experiences, ''Guf Sheni'' ().

Education

Shelah subsequently completed a BA in Economics and English Literature at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

and an MA in Literature and Creative Writing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

.Ofer Shelah
Knesset

Career

He started working as a journalist for ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'' and then for ''

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

''.All the kingmaker's men, and women
The Times of Israel, 23 January 2013

Political career

Prior to the

2013 Knesset elections Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 22 January 2013 to elect the 120 members of the nineteenth Knesset. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadi ...

Shelah joined the new

party, and was placed sixth on its list. He was elected to the Knesset as the party won 19 seats. During his first time, he was a member of the

Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee () is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign relations of Israel, Foreign and Israeli Security Forces, Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, sup ...

. In a 2013 speech at an event for Molad: The Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy, Shelah called Israeli settlements in the West Bank a key obstacle to resolving the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

, saying that "The settlements are an obstacle that just keeps growing. Israel is rapidly reaching the status of a South Africa."Attila Somfalvi
Yesh Atid MK warns occupation will turn Israel into S. Africa
Yedioth Ahronoth, 6 December 2013 Shelah added that "the occupation corrupts Israeli society, the IDF, Israeli justice, Israeli media, Israeli psyche and Israeli mode of speech." He was placed sixth on the party's list for the

2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...

, and was re-elected as the party won 11 seats. In 2020, Shelah was elected head of the State Audit Committee. He also heads a special Knesset committee on the

COVID-19 pandemic in Israel The COVID-19 pandemic in Israel is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case in Israel was confirmed on 21 February 2020, when a female citize ...

.'Netanyahu Is Morally Rotten, Gantz Is Weak,' Coronavirus Committee Head Says
''Haaretz'', 18 April 2020 He has criticized Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

for his handling of the virus and has called him "morally rotten." He has also pressed for a state comptroller investigation into the submarine graft scandal (

Case 3000 The trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as the Netanyahu-Elovitch-Mozes Trial or the Publisher's Trial, began following investigations into allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust by him and close political allies within his i ...

). Shelah also condemned Netanyahu for suggesting that the majority

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

Joint List The Joint List (, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', , ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority political parties in Israel: Hadash, Balad (political party), Balad, the United Arab List and Ta' ...

is illegitimate and should not be countered in determining the next government, likening Netanyahu's stance to

Kahanism Kahanism () is a religious Zionist ideology based on the views of Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League and the Kach party in Israel. Kahane held the view that most Arabs living in Israel are the enemies of Jews and Israel ...

and calling it "an official declaration of war on the

Jewish and democratic state "Jewish and democratic state" is the Israeli legal definition of the nature and character of the State of Israel. The "Jewish" nature was first defined within the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948 (see Jewish state and Jewish homel ...

." Shelah also criticized Netanyahu's coalition partner and Alternate Prime Minister,

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...

, as "weak" and "simply Netanyahu's clerk," pointing to Gantz's lack of input in the government's West Bank annexation plans. In December 2020, Shelah announced that he would leave Yesh Atid to establish his own political party, which was named Tnufa (''Momentum''). However, the party pulled out of the election race on 4 February 2021 amid failed talks to run alongside the

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...

Personal life

Shelah lives in

Moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

Ginaton Ginaton () is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Ben Shemen, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was established in 1949 by immigrants from Bulgaria, near the a ...

, and is widowed with two children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelah, Ofer 1960 births Living people Israeli journalists Israeli soldiers Jewish Israeli politicians Maariv (newspaper) people Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) People from Kiryat Bialik Tel Aviv University alumni New York University alumni Yesh Atid politicians Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli people of Latvian-Jewish descent