Omer Yankelevich (; born 25 May 1978) is an Israeli attorney, educator, social activist, and politician. She was the Minister of Diaspora Affairs and was a

Member of the Knesset Lists of Knesset members cover members of the Knesset of Israel. They are organized by session, by ethnicity and by position. By session * List of members of the first Knesset (1949–51) * List of members of the second Knesset (1951–55) * ...

for the Blue and White from 2019 to 2021. She is a co-founder of the "Just Begun Foundation", which sponsors social initiatives to help integrate peripheral and marginalized populations in Israel, with an emphasis on the

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 ...

sector. In 2019, she joined the Israel Resilience Party, which is part of the Blue and White political alliance, and was placed #23 on the faction's list for the April 2019 Knesset election. The Blue and White alliance gained 35 seats in the election, resulting in Yankelevich becoming a Member of the Knesset. She was subsequently elected to the Knesset as part of the Blue and White alliance in the September 2019 and March 2020 elections. In the

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

which comprised the

thirty-fifth government of Israel The thirty-fifth government of Israel (), or the Netanyahu–Gantz government, was the government of Israel which was sworn in on 17 May 2020 and dissolved on 13 June 2021. It was originally expected to be established following the April 2019 ...

, Yankelevich was named Minister of Diaspora Affairs, becoming the first-ever Haredi woman cabinet minister.

Early life and education

Omer Galinsky was born on 25 May 1978 to a secular family in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. She was named for her birthdate on the

Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as ''yahrzeits ...

, which coincided that year with the Jewish holiday of

Lag BaOmer Lag BaOmer (, ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Judaism, Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew calendar, Hebrew month of Iyar. Accordin ...

. She has one younger brother. Her father, Yaakov (Yasha) Galinsky, a native of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, was an actor in the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

, and later became a ''

baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' (; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'owner of return God or his way]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lifestyle or ...

''. Her mother was born in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. During her youth, her parents volunteered in the Jewish communities in the Soviet Union, and at age 16, she taught Hebrew and Judaism in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. She attended

Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov (, also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; ) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for girls worldwide. Bais Yaakov, started by Sarah Schenirer in post-World War I K ...

for her elementary schooling, and went on to attend the Rabbi Wolf Teachers Seminary in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

. She received a teaching certificate at the

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

seminary for women and completed additional courses at the Shecheransky Seminary in Tel Aviv. Later, she took English teaching courses at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She graduated from

Ono Academic College Ono Academic College (''in Hebrew'': הקריה האקדמית אונו) is a private college located in Kiryat Ono, Israel with over 18,000 students.

with a bachelor's of law (LL.B) with honors, and from

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

with a master's in law (LL.M) with distinction.

Career

She has practiced law since 2007. After passing the Bar, she worked as a legal assistant to a judge in the Jerusalem District Court for 13 years. She then became Chief of Staff of the Ministry for Social Equity. In her legal practice, she specializes in government relations and copyright. Yankelevich has taught at the Takhkemoni School in

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

and the Bat-Zion high school 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 ...

. Yankelevich is a co-founder of the "Just Begun Foundation" (), which sponsors social initiatives to help integrate peripheral and marginalized populations, with an emphasis on the Haredi sector. Among the group's initiatives are the opening of an art gallery showcasing Haredi artists in a

flea market, and projects in theatre, film, media, and plastics and visual arts. Yankelevich has defended the Haredi population against the Israel Women's Network and other liberal feminist groups that vilify it for its enactment of gender separation in institutes of higher learning and at public events.

Political career

In 2019, Yankelevich was chosen by

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 ...

to be a member of his

Israel Resilience Party Blue and White Israel Resilience Party (, ) is a centrist, liberal Zionist political party in Israel founded in December 2018 by Benny Gantz, former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. The party first ran in the April ...

, which was part of the Blue and White political alliance for the

April 2019 Israeli legislative election Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 9 April 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 21st Knesset. Elections had been due in November 2019, but were brought forward following a dispute between members of the current government over a ...

. She was placed #23 on the faction's list. Her appointment was seen as an attempt by Gantz to present the party's political orientation as centrist, rather than left, although her presence was not expected to pull in Haredi votes. With the Blue and White alliance gaining 35 seats in the election, Yankelevich became a

. In the

of the

, Gantz appointed Yankelevich to serve as Minister of Diaspora Affairs, thus becoming the first-ever Haredi woman cabinet minister. She did not run for re-election in the 2021 elections. Yankelevich sponsored a Knesset bill to require consultation with Diaspora on matters regarding world Jewry. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she led a rule change in Israel's entry policy, to allow visits of families of new immigrants.Diaspora Minister pushes rule change for parents of pregnant women
Jerusalem Post, April 13, 2021

Personal life

Yankelevich is a

Jew. She and her husband, Yaron, have five children, and reside in

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city council (Israel), city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named afte ...

. She speaks Hebrew, English,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and basic

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

. She is involved in strategy consulting and public relations as well as counseling leaders in geopolitical matters.

References

External links

* * Amy Spiro
Israeli Diaspora Minister Omer Yankelevitch is up for a challenge
November 17, 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yankelevich, Omer 1978 births Living people 21st-century Israeli women politicians Bar-Ilan University alumni Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Haredi politicians Government ministers of Israel Israel Resilience Party politicians Israeli Haredim Israeli people of Latvian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Israeli women activists Israeli women lawyers Jewish women activists Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Ono Academic College alumni 21st-century Israeli women educators Women government ministers of Israel Women members of the Knesset Jewish women politicians