Ofir Sofer

Ofir Sofer
אופיר סופר‎
Official portrait, 2023
Ministerial roles
2022–Minister of Aliyah and Integration
Faction represented in the Knesset
2019Union of Right-Wing Parties
2019Yamina
2019–2020Jewish Home–Tkuma
2020–2021Yamina
2021Likud
2021–Mafdal–Religious Zionism
Personal details
Born (1975-08-01) 1 August 1975 (age 49)
Alma, Israel
SpouseAdina
Children7

Ofir Sofer (Hebrew: אופיר סופר, born 1 August 1975) is an Israeli politician. He is currently the Minister of Aliyah and Integration and a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism.

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.[1]

Political career

In 2014, he became secretary general of the Orthodox-nationalist Tkuma party.[2] 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.[3] During the 2021 election he ran in Likud list for the Knesset, as a member of Atid Ehad party, using it as a shelf party. On 14 June he split from Likud and merged with the Religious Zionist Party, after the swearing-in of the 36th government.[4][5] The split was not officially approved until 27 June.[6]

Ahead of the 2022 election, Sofer was given the third spot on a joint list between the Religious Zionist Party and Otzma Yehudit,[7] 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.[1]

Personal life

Sofer is married, has 7 children,[8] and lives in Tefahot, a religious moshav in Northern Israel.

He is of Tunisian-Jewish descent.

References

  1. ^ a b "Ofir Sofer". Knesset. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. ^ "'All cities in the Galilee will become mixed'". Israel National News. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Here's the Full List of Israeli Lawmakers – and Only a Quarter Are Women". Haaretz. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Official: Ofir Sofer returns to the Religious Zionist Party". Srugim (in Hebrew). 14 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Ophir Sofer returns, Yamina waiting for Shai Maimon". Arutz 7 (in Hebrew). 14 June 2021.
  6. ^ @IsraelexLive (27 June 2021). "Ofir Sofer's request has been approved. He is now a Religious Zionist MK rather than a Likud MK. This reduces the size of the Likud's Knesset faction to 29, and increases the RZP's to 7" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "רשימת הציונות הדתית-עוצמה יהודית לבחירות לכנסת ה-25". www.maariv.co.il. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  8. ^ Harkov, Lahav (22 April 2019). "Meet the New MK: Ofir Sofer, URP". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 December 2020.