View source for Ophir Pines-Paz

{{Short description|Israeli politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = File:Ophir Pines-Paz.jpg
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1961|7|11|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Rishon LeZion]], Israel
| death_date          = 
| office1             = Ministerial roles
| suboffice1          = [[Internal Affairs Minister of Israel|Minister of Internal Affairs]]
| subterm1            = 2005
| suboffice2          = {{nowrap|[[Science, Culture and Sport Minister of Israel|Minister of Science, Culture & Sport]]}}
| subterm2            = 2006
| office3             = Faction represented in the [[Knesset]]
| suboffice3          = [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]]
| subterm3            = 1996–1999
| suboffice4          = [[One Israel]]
| subterm4            = 1999–2001
| suboffice5          = [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]]
| subterm5            = 2001–2010
| native_name         = אופיר פינס-פז
| native_name_lang    = he
}}

'''Ophir Pines-Paz''' ({{langx|he|אופיר פינס-פז}}; born 11 July 1961) is an Israeli former politician who served as [[Interior Minister of Israel|Minister of Internal Affairs]], [[Science, Culture and Sport Minister of Israel|Minister of Science, Culture & Sport]], and as a member of the [[Knesset]] for the [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]] from 1996 until 2010.

==Biography==
Ophir Pines-Paz was born in [[Rishon LeZion]], the eldest of three children. His father, Yehuda, was an optician and technologist and the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]], who had been born in the [[Netherlands]]. He had survived the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]] and was a member of the Dutch resistance during [[World War II]]. His mother, Ruth, was a painter. Pines-Paz graduated from the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] and holds a M.A. in Public Policy from [[Tel Aviv University]]. He served as a Staff Sergeant in the [[Israel Defense Forces]] from 1979 to 1982. He is currently married with two children, and lives in [[Ra'anana]], Israel. He is a member of the [[Conservative Judaism|Masorti]] congregation in Ramot, Jerusalem.<ref>[http://www.mercazusa.org/newsltr/spring2005/mazal_tov.html MERCAZ Newsletter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080808120712/http://www.mercazusa.org/newsltr/spring2005/mazal_tov.html |date=8 August 2008 }} Spring 2005</ref>

==Political career==
Pines-Paz was first elected to the Knesset in 1996. He retained his seat in the [[1999 Israeli legislative election|1999 elections]], and served as chairman of the parliamentary ruling coalition and as the chairman of the [[One Israel]] faction between 1999 and 2001. From 2001 to 2003 he served as the General Secretary of Labor Party.

He was re-elected again in 2003, and in 2005 was appointed [[Internal Affairs Minister of Israel|Internal Affairs Minister]], serving in the cabinet until Labor pulled out of the government. After being re-elected in 2006 he was appointed [[Science, Culture and Sport Minister of Israel|Minister of Science, Culture, and Sport]] in [[Ehud Olmert]]'s government. However, he resigned from the cabinet in November 2006 in protest against the nationalist [[Yisrael Beiteinu]] being added to the coalition; and was the only Labor Party minister to vote against the party coming into the government, stating in an interview:

:"The moment the government decided to allow the inclusion of Lieberman and his party, whose leaders are infected with racist and anti-democratic statements, I am left with no other choice."<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3321526,00.html Pines-Paz resigns from government] ''Yedioth Ahronoth'', 30 October 2006</ref>

In the Labor leadership election in 2007 he came fourth in the first round, switching his support to eventual winner Ehud Barak in the second round. He came second in the party's primary elections prior to the [[2009 Israeli legislative election|2009 Knesset elections]], and took third place on the party list.

In January 2010 Pines-Paz announced he was retiring from politics and leaving the Labor Party, which he said "had abandoned its values over the past 15 years".<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141261.html Labor stalwart Ophir Pines-Paz leaves Knesset, party and politics] Haaretz, 10 January 2010</ref> His seat was taken by [[Einat Wilf]].

He is a former chairman of the Authority for Rehabilitation of Prisoners. He also served as deputy director-general of the Immigration and Absorption Department of the [[Jewish Agency for Israel]].

==Awards and recognition==
In 2006 he received the "Ometz" award given by "Citizens for Good Governance and Social Justice". Previously he had been awarded the 1997 "Amitai" prize for honest management and integrity.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{MKlink|id=100}}

{{Israeli Ministers of Interior}}
{{Israeli Science, Culture and Sport Ministers}}
{{Israeli Culture ministers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pines-Paz, Ophir}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni]]
[[Category:Israeli Labor Party politicians]]
[[Category:Israeli people of Dutch-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Jewish Israeli politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)]]
[[Category:Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003)]]
[[Category:Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006)]]
[[Category:Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)]]
[[Category:Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)]]
[[Category:Ministers of internal affairs of Israel]]
[[Category:Ministers of science of Israel]]
[[Category:Ministers of sport of Israel]]
[[Category:One Israel politicians]]
[[Category:People from Rishon LeZion]]
[[Category:Tel Aviv University alumni]]
[[Category:Ministers of culture of Israel]]
[[Category:Gymnasia Realit alumni]]