Gadi Yevarkan

Desta "Gadi" Yevarkan (Hebrew: דֵסְטַה "גָּדִי" יִבַרקָן‎, born 1981) is an Israeli politician. He was elected to the Knesset for Likud in 2020, having previously served as a Knesset member for the Blue and White alliance between 2019 and 2020.

Gadi Yevarkan
Date of birth1981 (age 38–39)
Place of birthEthiopia
Year of aliyah1991
Knessets21, 22, 23
Faction represented in Knesset
2019–2020Blue and White
2020–Likud

Biography

Yevarkan was born in Ethiopia. His family emigrated to Israel in 1991 as part of Operation Solomon,[1] and initially settled in Tiberias before moving to a caravan site in kibbutz Hulda. He attended the Mikveh Israel boarding school. During his national service in the Israel Defense Forces, he served in the reconnaissance unit of the Givati Brigade,[1] reaching the rank of lieutenant. He subsequently studied for a bachelor's degree in law at the College of Management.

Yevarkan ran for a place on the Likud list for the 2009 and 2013 Knesset elections, but was unsuccessful on both occasions. In the 2013 municipal elections he headed the Ethiopian immigrant-dominated Ahdut (Unity) list in Rehovot. In 2016 he founded the Be'eri Mechina.[2]

In the build-up to the April 2019 elections, Yevarkan joined the new Telem party. After the party became part of the Blue and White alliance, he was given the thirty-third slot on the joint list,[3] and was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the alliance won 35 seats, and was re-elected in the September 2019 elections. However, prior to the March 2020 elections he was removed from the Blue and White list after threatening to defect to Likud.[4] He was subsequently given the twentieth slot on the Likud list for the elections,[5] and resigned from the Knesset. He was replaced as an MK by Yorai Lahav-Hertzano.[6]

References
  1. Yaakov Lappin (11 February 2016). "Our power can't rely on military force alone". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. Staff writer (30 April 2019). "Entering Knesset, Ethiopian MK kisses mother's feet in show of gratitude". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. 2019 Blue and White list CEC
  4. Moran Azulay; Yuval Karni (15 January 2020). "Blue & White MK defects to Likud". Ynetnews. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. "Likud to add Gadi Yevarkan to spot number 20". Israel National News. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. Idan Yosef (16 January 2020). "יוראי להב הרצנו יחליף את גדי יברקן". News1 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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