Yifat Shasha-Biton
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Yifat Shasha-Biton (; born 23 May 1973) is an Israeli educator and politician who served as
Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
between 2021 and 2022. She also served as a Member of the Knesset between 2015 and 2024, as
minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
between 2023 and 2024, and as Minister of Construction and Housing from 2019 to 2020.


Biography

Yifat Shasha-Biton was born in
Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona () is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanon, Lebanese border. In it had a population of . Located near the Blue Line (withdrawal line), Israel ...
in 1973 to Rachel, a nurse born in
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and Moshe David, the owner of a transportation company born in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. She attended the Darca Danciger high school in Kiryat Shmona. In 2002 she received her doctorate in education from the
University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
, having already obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in education at the same university. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on how education affects the understanding of the concept of peace among Israeli and Palestinian students.Meet the New MK: Kulanu's Shasha-Biton wants to narrow social gaps through education
''The Jerusalem Post'', 19 April 2015
Shasha-Biton lived in Kiryat Shmona for much of her life and raised three children there with her husband. As of 2018, she is a resident of
Zikhron Ya'akov Zikhron Ya'akov () often shortened to just Zikhron, is a local council (Israel), town in northern Israel, south of the city of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Mount Carmel, Carmel mountain range over ...
.


Academic and political career

Shasha-Biton became Vice President of Ohalo College, a teacher training college in Katzrin, and was also a member of the board at Tel-Hai Academic College. In 2008 she ran for mayor of
Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona () is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanon, Lebanese border. In it had a population of . Located near the Blue Line (withdrawal line), Israel ...
, and was appointed Deputy Mayor and head of the Education and Youth department at the City Council. In the 2013 local elections she was elected to the City Council. Prior to 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 ...
she joined the new Kulanu party, and was placed seventh on its list. She was elected to the Knesset as the party won ten seats. After being elected to the 20th Knesset, Shasha-Biton became chair of the Special Committee for the Rights of the Child. The Special Committee for the Rights of the Child dealt with daycare and preschool supervision, summer employment of youth, adoption, violence in schools, and sexual exploitation of children. In early 2016 she held discussions with child advocates, including "Lo Tishtok" (Thou Shalt Not Be Silent), a group offering support to ultra-Orthodox victims of sexual abuse. In response to studies about child abuse, Shasha-Biton has stated: "To end the epidemic of sexual abuse of minors, we must act systemically to raise awareness among parents and children; to provide tools to educators to identify children who were harmed; and improve the care and support to the victims and their families. In addition, changes must be made in legislation and law enforcement to bring those who harm to justice." In the 20th Knesset, Shasha-Biton also chaired the Lobby for the Status of Teachers in Israel and the Lobby for Border Settlements - Confrontation Line. She was a member of the Science and Technology Committee, the Subcommittee on Space, and was part of the Lobby for Distributive Justice, the Lobby for Promoting a Healthy Body Image among Youth, the Lobby for Women in Business and the Lobby for Narrowing Gaps in Education. In January 2019 Shasha-Biton was appointed Minister of Construction and Housing after the incumbent, Kulanu colleague Yoav Gallant, left the party and changed portfolios. She was placed third on the Kulanu list for the April 2019 elections, and was re-elected as the party won four seats. The party subsequently merged into
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 ...
and she was re-elected on the Likud list in the September 2019 elections. In January 2020 she was nominated for Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services, but her nomination was put on hold until the Knesset could approve it. When a new government was formed in May 2020, she was not included in the new cabinet. She took a position serving as Knesset Coronavirus chairwoman. On 13 July 2020, she voted to reverse the government decision to shutter pools and gyms because of fears of contagion from 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 ...
. Channel 12 reported that Likud coalition whip Miki Zohar told her: "You are finished in the Likud party." He added that she would be removed as chairwoman from the COVID-19 committee. However, Likud MK
Gideon Sa'ar Gideon Moshe Sa'ar (; born 9 December 1966) is an Israeli politician currently serving as Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel), Foreign Minister and member of the Knesset for the party New Hope (Israel), New Hope. Sa'ar was first electe ...
expressed his support for her and said decisions about closings should be made based on data and not because of threats. In December 2020, she announced that she would join Sa'ar's new party, New Hope. She was placed second on the list for the March 2021 elections and retained her seat in the Knesset as New Hope won six seats. On 13 June 2021, she was appointed as Minister of Education in the
thirty-sixth government of Israel The thirty-sixth government of Israel, or the Bennett–Lapid government, was the cabinet of Israel that was formed on 13 June 2021 after the 2021 Israeli legislative election, 2021 Knesset elections. On 2 June 2021 a coalition agreement was s ...
. She announced that she wished to implement changes in the school week so that high school students in Israel would study for five days a week, instead of six, and elementary school students would also study five days a week but with enrichment classes on Friday. Shasha-Biton stated that the proposed change would take time to implement. In 2021
Oded Goldreich Oded Goldreich (; born 1957) is a professor of computer science at the faculty of mathematics and computer science of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. His research interests lie within the theory of computation and are, specifically, ...
was selected by an Israel Prize committee to win the
Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
in mathematics. After the Supreme Court voided Yoav Gallant's decision to deny Goldreich the Israel Prize and ruled that the matter should be resolved by Shasha-Biton, in November 2021, she announced that she would block Goldreich from receiving the prize. In an editorial, the ''Jerusalem Post'' wrote that Goldreich's " lling for the boycott of professional colleagues... is a red line that shouldn't be crossed". A ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' editorial said that Shasha-Biton's decision meant "the most prestigious prize awarded by Israel will not be the mark of scientific excellence but of loyalty to the government". On 12 October 2023, she was sworn in as a
minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
following the outbreak of the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. She promptly resigned alongside the rest of New Hope on 25 March 2024. On 2 July, Biton announced her resignation from the Knesset and retirement from politics.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shasha-Biton, Yifat 1973 births Living people University of Haifa alumni Israeli educators Academic staff of Ohalo College Kulanu politicians Likud politicians Women members of the Knesset People from Kiryat Shmona Women government ministers of Israel Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) 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–) Deputy mayors of places in Israel 21st-century Israeli women politicians Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Ministers of education of Israel Ministers of housing of Israel New Hope (Israel) politicians Jewish Israeli politicians Ministers without Portfolio of Israel