Politicsחנן פורת

Hanan Porat

Hanan Porat was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, educator and politician who helped renew Jewish settlement in Gush Etzion and served in the Knesset from 1981 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1999.

1943 to 2011Renewing settlement in Gush EtzionCo-founding Gush EmunimKnesset member for Tehiya and NRP

Born: 5 December 1943, Kfar Pines
Died: 4 October 2011, Israel
Occupation: politician, rabbi, activist, military officer
Party: National Religious Party, Tehiya
Education: Mercaz HaRav Kook, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
Founded: Religious Zionist Party (1999)

Hanan Porat was born in 1943 in Kfar Pines

Porat was born Hanan Spitzer in Kfar Pines. His father served in the Haganah under the code name Porat, which the family later took as its name. In 1944 the family moved to Kfar Etzion, and early in the War of Independence the children were evacuated from there to Jerusalem.

He studied at the Kfar HaRoeh yeshiva high school, Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh and Mercaz HaRav, mainly under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. He was ordained as a rabbi and taught at several yeshivas.

After the Six-Day War he worked to renew settlement in Kfar Etzion and helped found Yeshivat Har Etzion and Alon Shevut. After the Yom Kippur War he was among the founders of Gush Emunim. In 1975 he led the founding of Elon Moreh in Sebastia.

He co-founded the Tehiya party and entered the Knesset in 1981, resigning in 1984. He returned in 1988 with the National Religious Party and chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. In 1999 he left the party for Tkuma, part of the National Union, and resigned from the Knesset that October.

Porat died of cancer in 2011. He was survived by his wife, 10 children and 20 grandchildren.

Milestones in Hanan Porat's life

1943
Born in Kfar Pines.
1944
His family moved to Kfar Etzion.
1973
Badly wounded at the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur War.
1975
Led the founding of Elon Moreh in Sebastia.
1981
Elected to the Knesset for Tehiya.
1984
Resigned from the Knesset.
1988
Returned to the Knesset with the National Religious Party.
1995
Persuaded Yitzhak Rabin to keep Rachel's Tomb under Israeli control.
1999
Left the NRP for Tkuma and resigned from the Knesset in October.
2011
Died of cancer.

Hanan Porat served in the military

Porat served in the 55th Paratroopers Brigade and fought in the battle for Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, taking part in the capture of the Old City. In the Yom Kippur War of 1973 he served on the southern front and was badly wounded at the Suez Canal.