Uri Ariel

Uri Yehuda Ariel (Hebrew: אורי אריאל; born 22 December 1952) is an Israeli politician who formerly served as a member of the Knesset for The Jewish Home (within which he chaired the Tkuma faction), and as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Uri Ariel was born in Afula, and grew up on kibbutz Tirat Zvi, which his father had helped found. He attended school in Sde Eliyahu, and was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1971. Ariel served in Palsar 7, the reconnaissance company of the 7th Armored Brigade, and retired as a major. He became involved in Israeli settlements, and served as secretary general of both the Amana settlement movement and the Yesha Council, as well as head of Beit El local council. He was also a member of the Jewish National Fund directorate.

Ariel is married, with 6 children.

For the 1999 Knesset elections, he was placed seventh on the National Union list. Although he missed out when the party won only four seats, Ariel entered the Knesset on 17 October 2001 as a replacement for the assassinated Rehavam Ze'evi.

He was placed sixth on the alliance's list for the 2003 elections, and retained his seat when the party won seven mandates. Prior to the scheduled Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank in August 2005, Ariel moved to Kfar Darom in solidarity, and he firmly opposed the plan. Similarly, he also moved to Amona prior to the dismantling of the outpost.

Originally placed fifth on the National Union Knesset list for the 2006 elections, Ariel conceded his spot to Aryeh Eldad, and was listed 6th. After the alliance agreed to run a joint list with the National Religious Party, Ariel was placed ninth, and retained his seat as the party won nine mandates.

During the Sukkot festival in 2006, Ariel ascended to the Temple Mount, saying he was preparing a plan to build a synagogue on the mount. The proposed synagogue would not be built instead of the mosques, but in a separate area, in accordance with rulings of the prominent Rabbis. Ariel said he believed that this would be correcting a historical injustice, and that it is an opportunity for the Muslim world to prove that it is tolerant to other faiths.

In March 2008, Ariel opposed the Knesset House Committee's decision to let Angela Merkel deliver her speech to the Knesset in German. In this context, he also referred to the German people as "the mother of all Amalekites".