Merav Michaeli

Michaeli was born in Petah Tikva[1] to Ami Michaeli and Suzan Kastner, of Hungarian Jewish background. She is the granddaughter of Rudolf Kastner[2] and also of Nehemia Michaeli who was the last secretary of the Mapam party.[3]

During her youth, Michaeli served as leader in the Israeli Scouts.[4] In the IDF, Michaeli was a newscaster on the Army Radio. She helped establish Galgalatz and Radio Tel Aviv radio stations and would also lead Hebrew television programs focused on politics.[5]

She was a journalist and opinion columnist for the Haaretz newspaper. She also taught university classes and lectured extensively on the topics of feminism, media, and communications. In September 2012, she spoke at TED Jaffa on the theme of "paradigm shift", in which she argued that society should "cancel marriage".[6]

In October 2012 Michaeli announced that she was joining the Labor Party, and intended to run for inclusion on Labor's list for the 2013 Knesset elections.[7] On 29 November 2012 she won fifth place on the Labor Party's list,[8] and was elected to the Knesset when Labor won 15 seats.[9]

In preparation for the 2015 general election the Labor and Hatnuah parties formed the Zionist Union alliance. Michaeli won the ninth slot on the Zionist Union list, and was elected to the Knesset as it won 24 seats.[10][11]

Shortly before the end of the Knesset term, the Zionist Union was dissolved, with Labor and Hatnuah sitting in the Knesset as separate parties. Michaeli was placed seventh on the Labor list for the April 2019 elections, but lost her seat as Labor was reduced to six seats. However, she returned to the Knesset in August 2019 after Stav Shaffir resigned from the legislature.[12] On 22 April 2020 after the 2020 Israeli legislative election the then Labor party leader Amir Peretz announced that the Labor Party would join the unity government in the Netanyahu-Gantz coalition, but Michaeli rejected sitting in the coalition under Netanyahu.[13]

She was elected to lead the Israeli Labor Party on 24 January 2021 after her predecessor, Amir Peretz, announced he would not stand for re-election.[14] She announced, at the time, that her party would have gender equality on the party list; with a female-male rotation. [15]

In the 2021 election the party won seven seats, becoming part of the thirty-sixth government, with Michaeli as Minister of Transport and Road Safety. On 31 December 2021, she announced that the Tel Aviv central bus station would be closed within four years, reneging her promise to close it immediately.

Michaeli was re-elected to lead the Israeli Labor Party in July 2022.[16]

In the next election her party barely crossed the threshold receiving the bare minimum four seats, as the right wing ascended to victory. Many blamed her for the poor election result as she had refused to pair up with far-left Meretz, thereby leaving the latter party below the threshold, and therefore out of the Knesset. Michaeli was accused by prominent Meretz lawmaker Esawi Frej of 'delusions of grandeur'.[17]

In 2023 she was one of the active participants in the anti-judicial reform protests. She rejected an invitation from Prime Minister Netanyahu to join the compromise talks at the President's residence.[18][19]

President Rivlin meets with Merav Michaeli of the Labor Party, May 2021 (GPOZAC 7802)

Michaeli's partner is the television producer, host and comedian Lior Schleien.[20] In August 2021, Michaeli and Schleien's son was born in the United States by surrogate pregnancy.[21] In April 2023, Michaeli announced that her second son had been born via surrogacy.[22]

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• Inaugural speech before the Israeli Knesset, March 5, 2013 on YouTube
• Merav Michaeli on the Knesset website