Ofir Sofer (; born 1 August 1975) is an Israeli politician. He is currently the
Minister of Aliyah and Integration and 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 the
National Religious Party–Religious Zionism
The National Religious Party–Religious Zionism (), or Mafdal–Religious Zionism, is a far-right religious Zionist political party in Israel. The party was formed in August 2023, when the Religious Zionist Party and The Jewish Home parties ...
.
Sofer is a former
IDF major and is considered a disabled veteran. Afterwards he worked at the
Ministry for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee.
Political career
In 2014, he became secretary general of the
Orthodox-nationalist
Tkuma party. When the party joined the
Union of Right-Wing Parties alliance for the
April 2019 Knesset elections, Sofer was placed fourth on the alliances' list, and entered the Knesset when it won five seats. During the
2021 election he ran in
Likud
Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
list for the Knesset, as a member of
Atid Ehad
Atid Ehad () is a political party in Israel.
History
Atid Ehad ran in the 2006 Knesset elections, and was headed by Avraham Neguise. It represented the concerns of Ethiopian Jews living in Israel, but also had other immigrant groups represent ...
party, using it as a shelf party. On 14 June he split from Likud and merged with the
Religious Zionist Party
The Religious Zionist Party (), known as Tkuma () until 2021 and officially known as National Union–Tkuma (, ), was a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist, Jewish supremacism, Jewish supremacist, and R ...
, after the swearing-in of the 36th government. The split was not officially approved until 27 June.
Ahead of the
2022 election, Sofer was given the third spot on a joint list between the Religious Zionist Party and
Otzma Yehudit
Otzma Yehudit () is a Far-right politics in Israel, far-right, ultranationalist, Kahanism, Kahanist, and Anti-Arab racism, anti-Arab List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It is the ideological descendant of the outlawe ...
, and was re-elected to the Knesset as a result. On 29 December 2022, Sofer was appointed
Minister of Aliyah and Integration in the
new government.
Personal life
Sofer is married, has 7 children,
and lives in
Tefahot, a religious
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 ...
in Northern Israel.
He is of
Tunisian-Jewish descent.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofer, Ofir
1975 births
Living people
Atid Ehad politicians
20th-century Israeli military personnel
21st-century Israeli civil servants
21st-century Israeli military personnel
Members of the Knesset with disabilities
Israeli military officers
Israeli Orthodox Jews
Israeli people of Tunisian-Jewish descent
Jewish Israeli politicians
Jewish military personnel
Likud politicians
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–)
Moshavniks
People from Northern District (Israel)
Religious Zionist Party politicians
The Jewish Home politicians
Yamina politicians
Midrashiat Noam alumni