Oded Forer


Oded Forer is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu beginning in late 2015.

Biography

Forer was born and raised in Rehovot. His father, Shuki Forer, served as the city's mayor. His paternal great-grandfather was one of the first pioneers to settle in Rehovot during the First Aliyah. Forer was an officer in the Israeli Navy. He worked as a political consultant for Education Minister Limor Livnat between 2001 and 2005 and served as secretary of the Israeli Council for Culture and Arts. In 2005, he founded a consulting company.
Forer is a graduate of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, with a Bachelor of Law and Administration and a Masters in Political Communication. He is married with two children and lives in Rehovot.

Political career

In the buildup to the 2008 Knesset elections Forer campaigned for the Shfela region slot on the Likud list; however, following the party primaries, he ended up in 109th place on the party's list.
In 2011, he joined Yisrael Beiteinu, becoming chairman of its youth division. He was placed sixteenth on the party's list for the 2013 Knesset elections. However, after Yisrael Beiteinu formed a joint list with Likud, he was placed 43rd, failing to win a seat.
In 2013 he was appointed Director-General of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, under Minister Sofa Landver. During his tenure, rates of aliyah increased by 30%.
Prior to the 2015 Knesset elections he was placed eighth on the Yisrael Beiteinu list. Although he failed to enter the Knesset when the party won six seats, he was moved up to seventh on the list after Ilan Shohat chose not to take his seat, allowing Robert Ilatov to serve in his stead. In September 2015, Sharon Gal chose to leave the Knesset to focus on journalism, allowing Forer to take his seat on 4 September.