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Meir Porush

(1955 - )

Meir Porush is an Israeli politician.

Porush was born on June 11, 1955) in Jerusalem. He served in the Israel Defense Forces and studied at a Talmudic college. He served as Director of Agudat Israel Offices in Jerusalem, was for 13 years a Member of the Jerusalem Municipal Council, and served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem.

Porush was first elected to the Knesset in 1996, serving as a member of the Knesset Anti-Drug Abuse and Finance Committees, and as Chairman of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on the Continuing Financial Crisis of the Local Governments. In 1995, he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Housing and in June 2001 as Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction.

Porush ran for Mayor of Jerusalem in 2008, but lost the election to secular politician Nir Barkat, by 50% to 42%. He retained his Knesset seat in the 2009 elections, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Education. However, he resigned the posting in February 2011 as part of a seat rotation agreement. Following the 2015 election, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Education.

In May 2016, he resigned from the Knesset to allow Ya'akov Asher to take his place as part of the rotation agreement between the parties in United Torah Judaism. He returned to the Knesset in 2019, but resigned his seat in June 2020 after being appointed Deputy Minister of Education, allowing Yitzhak Pindros to take his seat.

He was appointed Minister of Jerusalem and Tradition in the 37th government following the 2022 election.

He is married and has 12 children.


Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.