Ministry of Aliyah and Integration explained

Formed:1948
Nativename:משרד העלייה והקליטה
Jurisdiction:Government of Israel
Minister1 Name:Ofir Sofer
Chief1 Position:Director-General
Website:MoAI

The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (he|משרד העלייה והקליטה, Misrad HaAliyah VeHaKlita) is a ministry of the Israeli government responsible for providing assistance to immigrants.

Purpose

In coordination with local authorities and the Jewish Agency, the Ministry is responsible for helping new immigrants (olim) find employment and accommodation, and gives advice on education, planning and social issues, as well as setting up the "immigrant basket" of benefits (such as tax breaks, grants etc.).

History

The ministry was known until 1951 as the Ministry of Immigration (he|משרד העלייה|link=no, Misrad HaAliya, "Ministry of Aliyah") and later renamed he|המשרד לקליטת העלייה|label=none, HaMisrad LeKlitat HaAliyah, "Ministry of Integration of Immigrants". Pnina Tamano-Shata, who was also the first Ethiopian Jew to serve as a minister in the Israeli government,[1] was given the title of Minister of Immigrant Absorption when she was sworn in on 17 May 2020[2]

In 2019 a Times of Israel investigation found that all of the success stories on the ministry's Twitter page were invented, except for one person who was not an immigrant. The ministry acknowledged the fabrication and removed them all.[3]

List of ministers

The minister is a minor portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. There is also occasionally a deputy minister.[4]

MinisterPartyGovernmentTerm startTerm endNotes
Minister of Immigration
1Haim-Moshe ShapiraUnited Religious FrontP, 1, 214 May 19488 October 1951
Minister of Immigrant Absorption
2Yigal AllonAlignment13, 141 July 196815 December 1969
3Shimon PeresAlignment1522 December 196927 July 1970
4Natan PeledAlignment1527 July 197010 March 1974Not an MK
5Shlomo RosenAlignment16, 1710 March 197420 June 1977Not an MK
6David LevyLikud1820 June 19775 August 1981
7Aharon AbuhatziraTami195 August 19814 May 1982
8Aharon UzanTami19, 204 May 198213 September 1984
9Ya'akov TzurAlignment21, 2213 September 198422 December 1988
10Yitzhak PeretzShas23, 2422 December 198813 July 1992
11Yair TzabanMeretz25, 2613 July 199218 June 1996
12Yuli-Yoel EdelsteinYisrael BaAliyah2718 June 19966 July 1999
13Ehud BarakOne Israel286 July 19995 August 1999Serving Prime Minister
14Yuli TamirOne Israel285 August 19997 March 2001
15Ariel SharonLikud297 March 200128 February 2003Serving Prime Minister
16Tzipi LivniLikud
Kadima
3028 February 20034 May 2006
17Ze'ev BoimKadima314 May 20064 July 2007
18Yaakov EdriKadima314 July 200714 July 2008
19Eli AflaloKadima3114 July 200831 March 2009
20Sofa LandverYisrael Beiteinu32, 3331 March 200910 May 2015
21Ze'ev ElkinLikud3414 May 201530 May 2016
Minister of Aliyah and Integration
22Sofa LandverYisrael Beiteinu3430 May 201618 November 2018
Minister of Immigration and Absorption
23Benjamin NetanyahuLikud3418 November 201824 December 2018Serving Prime Minister
24Yariv LevinLikud3424 December 20189 January 2019Acting
25Yoav GallantLikud349 January 201917 May 2020[5]
26Pnina Tamano-ShataBlue and White17 May 202029 December 2022
27Ofir SoferReligious Zionist3729 December 2022

Deputy ministers

MinisterPartyGovernmentTerm startTerm end
1Aryeh EliavAlignment13, 1412 August 196815 December 1969
2Shlomo RosenAlignment1520 November 197210 March 1974
3Aharon UzanTami1911 August 19814 May 1982
4Marina SolodkinYisrael BaAliyah285 August 199911 July 2000
5Yuli-Yoel EdelsteinYisrael BaAliyah297 March 200128 February 2003
Marina SolodkinKadima3030 March 20054 May 2006

Notes and References

  1. News: Israel gets first Ethiopia-born minister, in Pnina Tamano-Shata. BBC News. 15 May 2020.
  2. News: After year of deadlock and days of delays, Knesset swears in new Israeli government. 13 May 2021. Haaretz. en.
  3. News: Gross . Judah Ari . To push aliyah, the Absorption Ministry is making up fake immigrants . 1 November 2019 . The Times of Israel.
  4. Web site: All Ministers in the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption . . 12 April 2019 . 9 January 2019.
  5. News: Gallant and Shasha-Biton sworn in as ministers, in cabinet reshuffle. The Times of Israel. 9 January 2019. 12 April 2019.