Michael Biton

Michael Biton (Hebrew: מיכאל ביטון, born 3 February 1970) is an Israeli politician. He currently serves as Minister in the Ministry of Defense. He and was previously mayor of Yeruham between 2010 and 2018.

Michael Biton
Date of birth (1970-02-03) 3 February 1970
Place of birthYeruham, Israel
Knessets21, 22, 23
Faction represented in Knesset
2019–2020Blue and White
Ministerial roles
2020–Minister in the Defense Ministry

Biography

Biton was born in Yeruham to parents who had immigrated from Morocco.[1][2] He gained a BA in behavioral studies and Hebrew literature from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and an MA in organizational leadership from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[3][2] He also studied English at Yale University and worked as an au pair in the US.[2] After his studies he was head of a community center in Yeruham, managed the Jewish Agency's Beersheba District, and founded the nonprofit organisation Youth of Yeruham.[4]

He was elected mayor of Yeruham as a Kadima candidate in November 2010 with 44% of the vote.[5] In 2014 he was re-elected with 70% of the vote.[1] He later joined the Labor Party,[6] and was a leader of the national "Equality March" which started in Yeruham.[7] In 2015 he was runner-up in the vote to become the head of the Israeli branch of the Jewish National Fund, 238 votes behind the victor, Labor MK Danny Atar.[8]

In the buildup to the April 2019 Knesset elections he worked with Adina Bar-Shalom to form a new political party called Ahi Yisraeli.[9][10] However, he left the party due to a leadership dispute with Bar-Shalom.[11] He subsequently joined the new Israel Resilience Party, which became part of the Blue and White alliance for the elections.[12] Biton was elected to the Knesset on its list, and re-elected in the September 2019 and 2020 elections. In May 2020 he was appointed Minister in the Ministry of Defense in the new government. He subsequently resigned his Knesset seat under the Norwegian Law and was replaced by Tehila Friedman.

References
  1. "The Small-town Mayor Who Could Rekindle Zionism". Haaretz. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. "Our Michael". Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  3. "Michael Biton" (PDF). Keren Hayesod Forum. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  4. Yagna, Yanir; Zuta, Rutie (8 October 2010). "Back to the Ballot Box". Haaretz. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. "Kadima Wins in Yeruham City Elections - Israel National News". Israel National News. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. Agency, TPS / Tazpit News. "Daughter of Shas Party Founder Rav Ovadia Establishes New Party". Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  7. "Equality March for Fairer Budget Allocation - New Israel Fund (NIF)". New Israel Fund (NIF). Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  8. Stern Hoffman, Gil (19 October 2015). "Atar Elected New Head of KKL". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  9. "Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef's daughter registers new political party". Israel National News. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  10. "Barak bashes Benny Gantz, Gabbay critics". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  11. "Adina Bar-Shalom to head nascent Achi Israeli party". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  12. Bachner, Michael. "Israel Resilience party reveals top picks for Knesset slate". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
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