Ophir Pines-Paz
Ophir Pines-Paz | |
---|---|
Minister of Science, Culture & Sport | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1996–1999 | Labor Party |
1999–2001 | One Israel |
2001–2010 | Labor Party |
Personal details | |
Born | Rishon LeZion, Israel | 11 July 1961
Ophir Pines-Paz (
Biography
Ophir Pines-Paz was born in Rishon LeZion, the eldest of three children. His father, Yehuda, was an optician and technologist and the Weizmann Institute of Science, who had been born in the Netherlands. He had survived the Holocaust and was a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II. His mother, Ruth, was a painter. Pines-Paz graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a M.A. in Public Policy from Tel Aviv University. He served as a Staff Sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces from 1979 to 1982. He is currently married with two children, and lives in Ra'anana, Israel. He is a member of the Masorti congregation in Ramot, Jerusalem.[1]
Political career
Pines-Paz was first elected to the Knesset in 1996. He retained his seat in the
He was re-elected again in 2003, and in 2005 was appointed
- "The moment the government decided to allow the inclusion of Lieberman and his party, whose leaders are infected with racist and anti-democratic statements, I am left with no other choice."[2]
In the Labor leadership election in 2007 he came fourth in the first round, switching his support to eventual winner Ehud Barak in the second round. He came second in the party's primary elections prior to the 2009 Knesset elections, and took third place on the party list.
In January 2010 Pines-Paz announced he was retiring from politics and leaving the Labor Party, which he said "had abandoned its values over the past 15 years".[3] His seat was taken by Einat Wilf.
He is a former Chairman of the Authority for Rehabilitation of Prisoners. He also served as Deputy Director-General of the Immigration and Absorption Department of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Awards and recognition
In 2006 he received the "Ometz" award given by "Citizens for Good Governance and Social Justice". Previously he had been awarded the 1997 "Amitai" prize for honest management and integrity.
References
- ^ MERCAZ Newsletter Archived 8 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Spring 2005
- ^ Pines-Paz resigns from government Yedioth Ahronoth, 30 October 2006
- ^ Labor stalwart Ophir Pines-Paz leaves Knesset, party and politics Haaretz, 10 January 2010
External links
- Ophir Pines-Paz on the Knesset website