Omri Ronen | |
|---|---|
| עמרי רונן | |
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| Born | (1992-05-24)May 24, 1992 (age 33) |
| Occupation | lawyer |
| Organization | Brothers and Sisters in Arms |
| Known for | social activism |
Omri Ronen (Hebrew:עמרי רונן; born May 24, 1992) is an Israeli lawyer and social activist who is one of the leaders of theBrothers and Sisters in Arms protest. Ronen has participated in demonstrations, speeches, and media interviews, including on the American program "60 Minutes", where he emphasized the importance of theSupreme Court as the last line of defense ofIsraeli democracy.[1][2]
Ronen was born inKfar Aza to Zlil and Idit Ronen. As a child, his family moved toKokhav Ya'ir Tzur Yigal and he completed his high school education at Ami Assaf School. Ronen volunteered for a year of service through theKibbutz Movement at the Neve Eyal boarding school, which cares for children with disabilities. In thearmy, he served in theMaglan unit. In 2014, he graduated with honors from the officers' course at the 1st Infantry Division. As part of his military service, he served as a team commander in Operation Shuvu Achim,Operation Protective Edge, and theIron Swords War. He studied law atTel Aviv University, which he graduated from in 2021. He interned at the State Attorney's Office in the economic department dealing with governmentcorruption, security offenses, and white-collar offenses.[3][4] In 2024, he was selected to the list of 40 most promising young people under the age of 40 byTheMarker.[5]
Ronen is a graduate of the prestigiousStandWithUs Israel Fellowship Program, the flagship program that trains leading students to promote Israel's image in the world. In 2022, he and friends founded the "Yahav-Educators for Zionism" association, which aims to inspire and deepenZionist identity among young groups through education, ideological clarification, and social action.[6]
In 2023, he began his activities as part of theprotest against the judicial reform. He first did so by organizing internally with his military and reserve comrades, and then joined theBrothers and Sisters in Arms organization and became one of its leaders.[5]
During the protest, Ronen announced that he would suspend his volunteering for thereserves if thethirty-seventh Israeli government completed the enactment of the judicial coup laws. In practice, he continued to report for the reserves.[7]
In 2024, Ronen filed a defamation lawsuit against MKGalit Distel-Atbaryan, after she published inflammatory and false statements against him onsocial media, including claims that he had shed the blood of those murdered onOctober 7th and that he was an outsider. During that year, Ronen filed other lawsuits against people who made similar statements.[7][8]
When theOctober 7 attacks broke out in 2023, Ronen alerted his team before they received a report order and went down to fight in the Gaza perimeter. He arrived with his team toNir Oz. At the same time, Ronen waited for a sign of life from his grandmother Nira Ronen, who lived inKfar Aza. Two days later, Ronen was informed that his grandmother had been murdered by Hamas terrorists along with her caregiver in her home. The terrorists left a letter declaring their intentions.[9] He continued to serve in the reserves for an additional 230 days.[10]
Ronen initiated the first Zionist-Pioneering construction project since the October 7 attacks, the renovation and reconstruction of 16 housing units in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The project was carried out voluntarily by thousands of volunteers and donors who are citizens of the State of Israel and was handed over to the kibbutz in April 2025. The project is a joint initiative of the kibbutz together with "Rebuilding", which is a social implementation arm ofBrothers and Sisters in Arms.[11][3]
Ronen is married to Tamar, a medical intern, and father of one child. The family lives in thecentral district of Israel.
