Rabbi Porush passes away at 93
Menachem Porush served as deputy minister of labor, social welfare; was member of Knesset for 35 years. Funeral will be held Monday in Jerusalem
An end of an era in Israeli politics – Rabbi Menachem Porush, who served as deputy minister of labor and social welfare and as a member of Knesset for Agudat Yisrael and United Torah Judaism has passed away. He was 93 in his death.
Porush on Sunday lost consciousness while in his house in Jerusalem. Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah medical teams tried to resuscitate him, but had to determine his death.
The funeral was delayed until Monday despite the custom of burying the deceased as soon as possible, in order to allow the public to participate in the mass funeral.
Moshe Levy, an on-call paramedic from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah medical services in Jerusalem treated the deceased and said that his death was pronounced after some 40 minutes of CPR.
According to Levy, "In a matter of minutes, more family members and friends arrived at the house, including his son MK Meir Porush. They were all completely shocked; simply refused to believe it."
United Torah Judaism Chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) eulogized Rabbi Porush: "He was a devoted activist for decades, loved by a large public and personally involved until his last day."
Menachem's father, Rabbi Moshe Glickman-Porush was a senior haredi activist at Agudat Yisrael and Menachem's son, Meir, continued his father's political way as Deputy Construction and Housing Minister, Deputy Education Minister and a member of Knesset on behalf of United Torah Judaism.
MK Uri Maklev told Ynet that "All members of United Torah Judaism are in deep mourning. Rabbi Menachem Porush was a legend; an exemplary public figure. He would always tell me: I am following you, and you are acting correctly. He was involved in public activities until his last breath. Even in his very last moments he carried a speech in front of the Chevra Kadisha. He was a role model for true public activism."
Rabbi Menachem Porush came from a veteran Jerusalemite family, and was among the leaders of the 80s and 90s campaign to close down Bar Ilan road on Saturdays. In 1999 he was one of the organizers of the mass demonstration against the High Court.
Kobi Nahshoni contributed to this report
