Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
MK Shai Piron seen during a Yesh Atid party meeting at the Knesset, June 29, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
MK Rabbi Shai Piron announced his resignation from the Knesset in a press conference Wednesday, ending months of speculation that he intended to leave parliament.
Piron, who entered the Knesset from the second spot on the Yesh Atid party slate, was scheduled to make a formal announcement of his decision at a late-morning press conference with party leader Yair Lapid.
He will be replaced by Elazar Stern, a former Hatnua party lawmaker who joined Yesh Atid before the elections in March. However, Stern, who was placed 12th on the list, failed to gain a Knesset seat when Yesh Atid won 11 seats in the vote.
Piron intends to take up a “senior education position” at a college as well as head the education and culture department in the municipality of Sderot, near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.
Yair Lapid (right) and new Yesh Atid recruit MK Elazar Stern at a press conference in Tel Aviv, on January 18, 2015. (Photo credit: Ben Kelmer/FLASH90)
During the previous government, Piron served as education minister and worked to introduce a number of reforms to the education system.
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In a statement, Lapid called Piron a “cherished friend” and said he was “my rabbi.”
But, he added, “Rabbi Shai is not leaving Yes Atid. He is remaining one of us, of our flesh, Yesh Atid’s spiritual guide. Together we set up this wonderful party and we will continue together.”
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