Avi Maoz

Avigdor "Avi" Maoz (Hebrew: אֲבִיגְדוֹר "אָבִי" מָעוֹז, born 6 July 1956)[1] is an Israeli civil servant and politician. The leader of the far-right Noam party, he is currently its sole member in the Knesset.

Avi Maoz
Faction represented in the Knesset
2021–Noam
Personal details
Born (1956-07-06) 6 July 1956
Haifa, Israel

Biography

Maoz was born Avigdor Fischheimer in the Kiryat Shmuel neighborhood of Haifa. He is the son of Holocaust survivors Esther and Israel Fischheimer. In 1975 he enlisted in the IDF and in 1977, he was a partner in establishing the settlement Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion, and was later the secretary of the Kibbutz. Between 1980 and 1991, he studied at a yeshiva.

Early career

Maoz was appointed Director of the Ministry of Interior by Natan Sharansky in 1999, and subsequently became director of the Ministry of Housing under minister Effi Eitam.[2] He also served as the director-general of Yisrael BaAliyah.[3]

Political career

Maoz became leader of the Noam party after its establishment in 2019.[2] He and Noam campaign on Israel's "Jewish identity", which Maoz argues should be a far-right interpretation of Orthodox Judaism, and against secularism and Reform Judaism.[4][5] He has campaigned heavily against LGBT rights, calling for a ban on Pride parades and the legalisation of conversion therapy.[4] He is against women serving in the Israel Defense Forces,[6] and has called for increased gender segregation in public events.

Prior to the 2021 Knesset elections he was placed sixth on the Religious Zionist Party list,[1] and was elected to the Knesset as the party won six seats.[2]

He was re-elected in the 2022 Knesset elections as part of the Religious Zionism Party,[7] though the party split into three factions on 20 November 2022.[8] An agreement signed on 27 November 2022 will appoint Maoz a deputy minister in the coalition under Benjamin Netanyahu.[4] As part of the agreement, Maoz will head a new organization focused on Jewish identity, which will include control of Nativ, a body which administers immigration from former Soviet countries. Maoz has said he wishes to change Israel's Law of Return to exclude non-Jewish grandchildren of Jews and recognise only Orthodox conversions to Judaism for migration.[9] Maoz's appointment went into effect on 3 January 2023.[10]

On 27 February 2023, Maoz announced his intention to resign as deputy minister, claiming the government did not intend on fulfilling Noam's coalition agreement with Likud.[11] his resignation went into effect on 1 March.[12]

Personal life

Maoz lives in Jerusalem, is married and has ten children.[13]

References
  1. בחירות 2021: חברי הכנסת ה-24 מטעם הציונות הדתית Mako, 25 March 2021 (in Hebrew)
  2. Reform rabbi, Kahanist agitator, firebrand writer: The new Knesset's 16 rookies The Times of Israel, 26 March 2021
  3. Klein, Zvika (28 November 2022). "What will Avi Maoz taking over Nativ mean for former Soviet Union Jews?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  4. Keller-Lynn, Carrie (27 November 2022). "Netanyahu puts extremist homophobic politician in charge of Israel's Jewish identity". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  5. "Netanyahu signs Israel coalition deal with anti-LGBT Noam party". BBC News. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  6. The new 'normal'? Far-right, anti-LGBT candidate set to enter Knesset The Times of Israel, 24 March 2021
  7. "As 25th Knesset sworn in, president urges MKs to end 'addiction' to toxic discourse". The Times of Israel. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  8. "After joint run, Religious Zionism party splits into three factions". The Times of Israel. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  9. Keller-Lynn, Carrie (28 November 2022). "Far-right MK Maoz says will act according to law in handling Jewish immigration". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  10. "הממשלה אישרה מינויי סגני שרים". GOV.IL (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  11. Avraham, Yaron (2023-02-27). "אבי מעוז הודיע לנתניהו: מתפטר מתפקידי בממשלה". N12. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  12. "חבר הכנסת אבי מעוז". Knesset (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  13. How to Understand the Right-Wing Religious Zionists Parties Jewish Press, 11 February 2021
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