Place of birth Afula, Israel Knessets 20 | 2015– Zionist Union Name Danny Atar | |
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Date of birth (1958-01-05) 5 January 1958 (age 57) | ||
Daniel "Danny" Atar (Hebrew: דניאל "דני" עטר, born 5 January 1958) is an Israeli politician.
Biography
Atar was born in Afula to parents who had immigrated from Morocco in 1956. During his IDF national service he served in the Golani Brigade. He fought in the 1982 Lebanon War. He continued to serve in the army reserves, becoming a lieutenant colonel.
In 1994 he was elected leader of Gilboa Regional Council. He was placed 16th on the Labor Party list for the 2013 Knesset elections, a spot reserved for the agricultural sector, but did not become a Knesset member as the party won only 15 seats. Although he was next in line to replace Binyamin Ben-Eliezer following his retirement from politics, he gave up his seat for Raleb Majadele.
Prior to the 2015 elections he was placed 15th on the Zionist Union list, an alliance of Labor and Hatnuah. He was elected to the Knesset as the alliance won 24 seats.
In October 2015, Atar was elected head of the Jewish National Fund. He was replaced in the Knesset by Yael Cohen Paran, the head of the Green Movement.
Atar is married with three children and lives in Gan Ner.