Uri Shraga Orbach (Hebrew: אורי שרגא אורבך; 28 March 1960 – 16 February 2015) was an Israeli Religious Zionist writer, journalist, and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home party, and as Minister of Pensioner Affairs.

Biography

Orbach was born in Petah Tikva, Israel. He attended a Hesder yeshiva and did his national service in Israel Defense Forces in the IDF Armored Corps, where he served as a staff sergeant. He later worked as a journalist, producing columns for Yedioth Ahronoth and serving as a co-host for the Army Radio mid-morning show The Last Word.[1] He also wrote several children's books, including Donkeys on the Roof and Other Stories, and a dictionary of Religious Zionist slang, My Grandfather Was a Rabbi, as well as founding and editing the children's magazines Otiot and Sukariot.

Prior to the 2009 elections he joined the Jewish Home. Following a split in the party, in which several members left to re-establish the National Union party, he was placed third on the party's list,[2] and entered the Knesset as it won three seats. For the 2013 elections he was placed sixth on the Jewish Home list,[3] retaining his seat as the party won 12 seats. He was appointed Minister of Pensioner Affairs on 18 March 2013.

Orbach lived in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut with his wife and four children.[4]

In January 2015 he took a leave of absence from politics for health reasons, to battle a chronic hematologic disease. In February 2015 his condition took a turn for the worse and he died in the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem on 16 February 2015.[5][6] His seat in the Knesset was taken by Hillel Horowitz.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Minister Uri Orbach passes away at age 54". Knesset. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
  2. ^ Jewish Home Knesset (in Hebrew)
  3. ^ Jewish Home blames Likud for leaking Gimpel video The Times of Israel, 20 January 2013
  4. ^ "Minister Uri Orbach dies after battle with blood disease". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2025-02-17.
  5. ^ Ex-Jewish Home minister Uri Orbach dies at 54 The Times of Israel, 16 February 2015
  6. ^ Bayit Yehudi minister Uri Orbach dies at 54 Ynetnews, 16 February 2015


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