Uri Orbach
Uri OrbachFlash 90

A ceremony commemorating the late Minister of Social Equality, Uri Orbach, is scheduled to take place two weeks from now at the Jerusalem Theater. While forming the ministry was Orbach’s life work, the ministry itself did not help out to organize the event, even though they are legally mandated to.

According to a report that appeared in Yediot news service, the event was passed on to be organized by the department of National Service. According to Israeli law, a ministry must help the family of a fallen former minister organize a yearly commemoration for the minister. Source within the Jewish Home party say that requests to help organize the first such commemoration for Orbach met with foot dragging on behalf of the ministry and its director Avi Cohen.   

In lieu of help from the ministry, the party sought out support of the Department of National Service, which was also under Orbach’s auspices. Director of the department Shalom Gerabi gladly accepted the responsibility of helping the family organize the event.

A Jewish Home party member who works inside the department said that recently there is an attempt to sideline the work and legacies of Orbach inside the ministry. “We are dealing with a petty, sad and inappropriate attempt to erase the credit due to Orbach for his work within the ministry. Even his most popular project, that of ‘Tuesdays in suspenders’ which was widely received and praised, was almost cancelled. It is sad that the memory of Uri is threatening to others in the ministry, and because of that he is being refused his rightful honor.”

The ministry responded by saying that “not only did the ministry offer to produce the event honoring the memory of former minister Orbach, but it also offered the family anything it needed to help them organize the event. We respect the family's wishes to hold a smaller ceremony that will be carried out by those close to the minister.”

Sources within the Jewish Home party said that the offer to help only came “once the ministry found out that the ceremony would be taken out of their hands. Only then did they begin to help.”