Israel’s minister for pensioner affairs, Uri Orbach (Jewish Home), died on Monday after a long battle with a rare blood disease.
Orbach, 54, was hospitalized at Jerusalem’s Sha’are Tzedek Hospital in late January as his condition began to worsen. On Sunday, doctors said that Orbach had taken a turn for the worse, and both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin came to visit the ailing minister just hours before he passed away.
Orbach rose to moderate fame as a journalist and co-host of a popular morning talk show on Army Radio. He also authored several children’s books, wrote a book on Hebrew slang, and founded and edited two popular Israeli children’s magazines.
Orbach is survived by his wife, Michal, and their four children: Roni, Tamar, Shira and Daniel.
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