Orit Strook | |
|---|---|
 Strook in 2023 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2022– | Minister of Settlements and National Missions |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 2013–2015 | Jewish Home |
| 2021– | Mafdal–Religious Zionism |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-03-15)15 March 1960 (age 65) |
Orit Malka Strook (Hebrew:אורית מלכה סטרוּק; born 15 March 1960) is anIsraeli far-right, religious-conservative politician. She serves as the Minister ofSettlements and National Missions in thethirty-seventh government, and is a member of theKnesset for theNational Religious Party–Religious Zionism. She served as member of the Knesset forTkuma (a faction withinthe Jewish Home) between 2013 and 2015. Strook is also among the leaders of the Jewish settlement inHebron, and she established the Israeli non-governmental organizationHuman Rights Organization of Judea and Samaria, which she headed between 2004 and 2012.
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Orit Cohen (later Strook) was born to a family of lawyers fromHungary. Her middle name Malka was given to her in memory of her grandmother, theHungarian Jewish poetMária Kecskeméti [he]. Growing up, Strook studied at theHebrew University Secondary School. In the late 1970s, while she was in the 11th grade, Strook gradually became more religious; she eventually became aba'alat teshuva and embracedOrthodox Judaism. During that period, she began studying at thereligious Zionist[1]Machon Meiryeshiva andoutreach organization. Shortly thereafter, she married Avraham Strook, a student of RabbiHaim Drukman. The young couple briefly lived in thesettlement ofYamit in theSinai Peninsula, but, after the Sinai was returned toEgypt in 1982 as part of the terms of the1979 peace treaty, and Yamit was evacuated, Strook and her family chose to live in the Jewish settlement inHebron.[citation needed]
In 2007, Strook's son Zviki Strook was convicted of kidnapping and torturing aPalestinian boy, who was found hours later, naked, handcuffed, unconscious and wounded with severe injuries after the attack in a field. Zviki Strook was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Despite the conviction, Orit Strook defended her son, and in response to the ruling, she stated that, "Unlike theCourt, who preferred to believe the Arab witnesses, we are sure of Zvi's innocence, and are hurting from the success of his haters and would assist him to deal with the difficult sentence imposed on him".[2][3][4]
As of 2013, Strook is a resident of the Avraham Avinu settlement in the city of Hebron in theoccupied West Bank. She has eleven children and twelve grandchildren.
In April 2025, one of Strook's daughters, Shoshana, filed a police complaint in Italy, accusing both of her parents and a brother ofsexually abusing her when she was a child.[5] Later, she returned to Israel, and also filed a complaint with Israeli Police. The investigation byLahav 433 Anti-Corruption Unit was subject to agag order, and therefore, Israeli news outlets were prohibited from publishing further details or even mentioning that the charges are against Minister Strook.[6] Shoshana Strook alleged that both parents filmed what she called ″sexual rituals″, exploiting her and offering the videos aschild pornography.[7]
After theCave of the Patriarchs was closed to Jewish worshippers following the1994 massacre, Strook was elected as the head of the Women's Committee for the Cave (Hebrew:ועד נשים למען המערה), and worked to convince the political system to re-open the Cave for Jewish visitors.[8] Since 2000, she has headed the legal-political department of the organization of Jewish settlers in Hebron. Following the Israeli government's 2002 evacuation of a family of Jewish settlers from an area ofKiryat Arba, Strook founded theHuman Rights Organization of Judea and Samaria to advocate for settlers.[8] She headed the organization from 2004 until 2012.[9]
Strook was placed thirteenth on the jointNational Union–National Religious Party list for the2006 elections, but failed to win a seat as the alliance won only nine seats.
In the2013 elections, Strook was elected to the Knesset onThe Jewish Home list.[10] She is among the Knesset's most vehement opponents to recognition of non-Orthodox movements of Judaism.[11] Strook was placed thirteenth on the party's list[12] for the2015 elections but lost her seat as the party was reduced to eight seats. In 2019, Strook was tenth on theYamina list, but did not make into theKnesset since Yamina won only seven seats in theSeptember 2019 Israeli legislative election. Strook was again tenth on the Yamina list In March 2020 but did not win a seat in Knesset as Yamina won only six seats in the March2020 Israeli legislative election.
For the2021 elections, Strook was placed fifth onReligious Zionist Party's list,[13] and returned to the Knesset, as the alliance won six seats.[14] In December 2022, Strook suggested that doctors could refuse to treat gay people if it conflicted with their religious beliefs.[15]
Strook criticized Israeli security officials who called attacks against Palestinians by Jewish settlers in the West Bank "terrorism". Strook compared these officials to theWagner Group.[16]
She was appointed the Minister ofSettlements and National Missions in thethirty-seventh government in December 2022.[17]
In May 2024, Strook opposed a potential agreement for a ceasefire in theGaza war, which proposed Israel halting hostilities in exchange forHamas releasing Israeli hostages. In response to American efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, Strook said that theUnited States "doesn't deserve to be called a friend of the State of Israel".[18][19]
| International | |
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| National | |
