Yitzhak Pindros
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Yitzhak Ze'ev Pindrus (; born 20 July 1971) is an Israeli politician currently serving as a member of 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 ...
.


Biography

Pindrus is the eldest son of American immigrants Moshe and Zelda, who moved to Israel and settled 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 ...
. He attended
Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu (, commonly referred to as "Zilberman's") is a Haredi Lithuanian-style educational institution located in the Old City of Jerusalem. If follows the teachings of the Vilna Gaon and utilises the Zilberman Method, a unique pe ...
, before marrying at the age of 19 and moving to the
Beitar Illit Beitar Illit (; officially Betar Illit; ) is a Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, southwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Beitar Illit is one of Israel's largest and most rapidly ...
settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...
. Between 1991 and 1996 he worked as an advisor to Moshe Leibovitz, the head of Beitar Illit local council, before being elected deputy leader of the council in 1996 on behalf of
Degel HaTorah Degel HaTorah () is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence, it has been allied with Agudat Yisrael, under the name United Torah Judaism. History Degel HaTorah was founded in 1988, as a splinter from Agudat Isr ...
. In 2001 Pindrus ran for mayor of Beitar Illit, unseating the incumbent mayor Yehuda Gerlitz. Pindrus won by just 162 votes after he received 2,688 votes to Gerlitz's 2,526. In 2007, Pindrus lost the mayoral election to Meir Rubinstein. After his election defeat as mayor of Beitar Illit, Pindrus moved back to the
Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...
, where he lives with his wife and six children. He is fluent in Hebrew, English, and
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 ...
. He subsequently became a member of Jerusalem City Council in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, becoming deputy mayor and portfolio holder for sanitation and city improvements. He was eighteenth on the United Torah Judaism list (an alliance of Degel HaTorah and
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 ...
) for the 2013 elections, but the alliance won only seven seats. He was twenty-second on the list for the 2015 Knesset elections, in which UTJ won six seats. In 2016 he became acting
mayor of Jerusalem The Mayor of the City of Jerusalem is head of the executive branch of the political system in Jerusalem. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within Jerusal ...
. Prior to the 2018 local elections Pindrus resigned from Jerusalem City Council and as deputy mayor in order to contest the mayoral election in
El'ad El'ad () is a city in the Central District of Israel. In the 1990s, it was built for a Haredi population and to a lesser extent, it was also built for a Religious Zionist Jewish population. Located about east of Tel Aviv on Route 444 between R ...
. However, he was subsequently barred from contesting the elections as he was not a permanent resident of the city. In the build-up to the April 2019 Knesset elections he was placed eighth on the UTJ list. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the faction won eight seats. However, he lost his seat in the September 2019 elections when UTJ was reduced to seven seats. He re-entered the Knesset in June 2020 as a replacement for
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 ...
, who had resigned under the Norwegian Law after being appointed to the cabinet.


Views and opinions


Conversion to Judaism through the IDF

Pindrus has publicly opposed the validity of conversion to Judaism conducted through an Israeli military program. In a panel on religion and state held by ITIM: Resources and Advocacy for Jewish Life and the ''Kippah'' website held prior to the 2021 Israeli Knesset elections, Pindrus said that he did not recognize the Judaism of IDF Nativ graduates, despite their approval by the
Chief Rabbinate Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...
. Pindrus later apologized on Israel's Channel 12 for his use of the term "shiksa" when referring to women who converted to Judaism through the IDF. Pindrus said the use of the term was not appropriate, although he continued to insist that these women were not Jewish according to
halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
. Pidrus was reportedly criticized by MK
Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...
, who responded that Pindrus' view was reflective of his ignorance of the commitment of these women to preserving Jewish life in Israel.


Women's prayer at the Western Wall

Pindrus reportedly helped organize a
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 ...
opposition campaign against
Women of the Wall Women of the Wall (Hebrew: נשות הכותל, ''Neshot HaKotel'') is a multi-denominational Jewish feminist organization based in Israel whose goal is to secure the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall, also called the Kotel, in a fashi ...
, a pluralistic Jewish prayer group at the
Western Wall The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...
.


Death penalty for rapists

Pindrus has publicly expressed support for rapists to be "shot at point blank range."


LGBTQ rights

Pindrus is opposed to
pride parades A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The even ...
, saying he wanted to stop them from happening. Pindrus cited the
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
as the reason why he opposes homosexuality, claiming that the "decadence of forbidden relationships" is a bigger threat to Israel than the
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
,
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
and
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
. Pindrus walked out of a speech given by newly elected
Speaker of the Knesset The speaker of the Knesset (, ) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel when the President is incapacitated. The current speaker is Amir Ohana, who ...
Amir Ohana Amir Ohana (; born 15 March 1976) is an Israeli lawyer, former Shin Bet official and politician who has served as the Speaker of the Knesset since 2022, and as a member of the Knesset for Likud. He previously held the posts of Ministry of Just ...
in protest of Ohana mentioning his same-sex partner.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pindrus, Yitzhak 1971 births Living people Degel HaTorah politicians Deputy mayors of Jerusalem Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli people of American-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Mayors of places in Israel Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Politicians from Jerusalem United Torah Judaism politicians City councillors of Jerusalem Israeli settlers