Oron was born in
Givatayim and grew up in
Ramat Gan. His parents emigrated from Poland before World War II. His father was a textile worker and his mother a housewife. His nickname as a boy was "Jamus" (water buffalo) and later, "Jumes" (sycamore fruit). He attended
Tichon Hadash high school in Tel Aviv. Oron served in the
Israel Defense Forces with the airborne
Nahal unit. During his military service, he and his wife Nili joined kibbutz
Lahav, where he taught in the high school and worked in various branches of the kibbutz economy (poultry, field crops, sausage factory, plastics factory). He was a member of the kibbutz committee and served as executive secretary. In 1968, he became secretary of the
Hashomer Hatzair movement. He was national secretary of
Kibbutz Artzi twice. He joined
Haim Ramon in his bid for the
Histadrut leadership, and after Ramon's victory, during 1995-1996, served as its treasurer. In 1999, Oron was appointed Minister of Agriculture in
Ehud Barak's government. In 2000, he resigned from the Knesset to better carry out his duties as a Minister. He returned to the Knesset after the
2003 elections. He headed the party's list in the
2009 elections, but saw the party reduced to just three seats. Several days after the election, on 14 February, 300 Meretz members signed a petition urging Oron to resign, while a second petition signed by 400 other party members, including
Shulamit Aloni and
Yossi Beilin, called for him to stay. The next day, Oron said he decided not to resign, saying: "For me, responsibility means working toward the rehabilitation of Meretz". In January 2011 Oron announced he would resign from the Knesset within a few months, before formally resigning his seat on 23 March. He remained the leader of Meretz until
Zehava Galon was elected to replace him in February
2012.
Activism Oron has embarked on several projects to improve the welfare of the
Bedouin population of the
Negev, among them the establishment of a wastewater purification plant, a health clinic and nursery schools. He is the Laureate of the 2005 "Quality in Government Award" ==References==