Haim Oron | |
|---|---|
חיים אורון | |
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| Ministerial roles | |
| 1999–2000 | Minister of Agriculture |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 1988–1992 | Mapam |
| 1992–2000 | Meretz |
| 2003–2011 | Meretz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1940-03-26)26 March 1940 (age 84) Givatayim,Mandatory Palestine |
Haim "Jumes"Oron (Hebrew:חיים "ג'ומס" אורון; born 26 March 1940) is an Israeli politician and formerMinister of Agriculture. He was head of the political partyMeretz, for whom he served as a member of theKnesset.
Oron was born inGivatayim and grew up inRamat Gan. His parents emigrated from Poland before World War II. His father was a textile worker and his mother a housewife. His nickname as a boy was "Jamus" (water buffalo) and later, "Jumes" (sycamore fruit).[1]
Oron served in theIsrael Defense Forces with the airborneNahal unit. During his military service, he and his wife Nili joined kibbutzLahav, where he taught in the high school and worked in various branches of the kibbutz economy (poultry, field crops, sausage factory, plastics factory). He was a member of the kibbutz committee and served as executive secretary. In 1968, he became secretary of theHashomer Hatzair movement. He was national secretary ofKibbutz Artzi twice.[1]
Oron had five children - Irit, Uri, Yaniv, Assaf and Oded. Yaniv died in a tractor accident at the age of 4. Oron and his wife continue to live on the kibbutz, and his benefits as an ex-Knesset member and ex-Minister go into the collective treasury.[1]
Oron was one of the founders ofPeace Now (1978). In 1988, he was voted to the Knesset forMapam which in 1992 merged withRatz andShinui as Meretz. In the thirteenth Knesset, he was chairman of the Ethics Committee. In the fourteenth Knesset, he became the leader of Meretz.
He joinedHaim Ramon in his bid for theHistadrut leadership, and after Ramon's victory, during 1995-1996, served as its treasurer. In 1999, Oron was appointed Minister of Agriculture inEhud Barak's government. In 2000, he resigned from the Knesset, but returned after the2003 elections.
AfterYossi Beilin resigned as Meretz leader, Oron was elected as party chairman. He headed the party's list in the2009 elections on 10 February, but saw the party reduced to just three seats. On 14 February 300 Meretz members signed a petition urging Oron to resign, while a second petition signed by 400 other party members, includingShulamit Aloni andYossi Beilin, called for him to stay. The next day, Oron said he decided not to resign, saying: "For me, responsibility means working toward the rehabilitation of Meretz".[2]
In early 2011 Oron announced he would quit Knesset within few months,[3] before formally resigning his seat on 23 March.
Oron has embarked on several projects to improve the welfare of theBedouin population of theNegev, among them the establishment of a wastewater purification plant, a health clinic and nursery schools.[1] He is known for his ties withMarwan Barghouti, now serving five life terms in an Israeli jail for terrorist activities.[1]Qadura Fares, a seniorFatah official, describes Oron as a "loyal friend" and a "loyal Zionist," but also attentive to the problems of the Palestinians.[1]
Oron was one of the initiators of theGeneva Accord, together withYossi Beilin.[4]
He is the Laureate of the 2005 "Quality in Government Award"
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