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Oded Forer enlisted in the Navy, completed naval officers course, and served in a variety of command positions: Dabur (patrol boat) commander, naval officer course instructor, and commander of a-patrol boat subdivision. He was discharged at the rank of captain and was promoted to major during the course of reserve duty.

After his discharge from the IDF, Forer began his academic studies and simultaneously began serving as adviser to then-Minister of Education Limor Livnat and as secretary of the Israeli Council for Culture and Arts.

 

Forer is an attorney, with an LL.B. and a B.A. in Government from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, and a M.A. in Political Media from Tel Aviv University.

 

In 2005, Forer founded a strategic consulting firm that focused on ventures, particularly BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) and PFI (Private Finance Initiative), including a national training center for the Israel Police and the IDF training-base complex (Ir HaBahadim).

 

In 2011, Forer joined Yisrael Beitenu. He initiated and established the party’s youth division –Tzeiri Beitenu – which he headed until 2013. That year, Forer was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, under Minister Sofa Landver.

 

Prior to the elections for the 20th Knesset, Forer resigned from his position to run for the Knesset. Since September 2015, Forer has been serving as MK.

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As Director General of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, Forer made, encouraging immigration to Israel as one of the Ministry’s main goals, in addition to improving the absorption processes for immigrants. As a result, the name of the Ministry was changed to Ministry of Immigration and Absorption. The Ministry then began to focus on encouraging potential immigrants to emigrate to Israel.

 

Forer spearheaded a revolution in this area, including the establishment of an inter-ministerial team to encourage immigration from France. He worked to pass Government resolution 1736 to encourage immigration and to promote a national project to encourage immigration. During his term as Director General, the number of immigrants to Israel rose. In 2012, before he joined the Ministry, 1,900 immigrants from France moved to Israel. In 2014, this number rose to over 6,500 immigrants. Furthermore, the number of immigrants who moved to Israel in 2014 broke a ten-year–old record: approximately 27,000 immigrants moved to Israel in 2014, as opposed to the average of 18,000 immigrants in each of the past ten years.

 

In light of the 2014crisis in Ukraine, which also affected the Jewish community, MK Forer spearheaded a series of measures to facilitate faster and easier absorption for immigrants from the Ukraine. Furthermore, he led to the approval of two significant Government resolutions on the removal of barriers to employment of immigrants. The inter-ministerial committee that Forer initiated and headed that formulated recommendations that were eventually approved by the Government (Government Resolutions 1737 and 2225). The activity resulted in regulatory changes and relief in employment of immigrants and resolved bureaucratic difficulties in the Ministries of Education, Health, and Economy; the Civil Service Commission, Council for Higher Education, and other institutions.

 

In addition, Forer spearheaded a major consulting process to promote the inclusion of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel, a move to which thousands of people and 12 government ministries were party. Spearheading this complex process required special attention; ultimately, immediately after the formation of the current government, the principles that the committee had painstakingly formulated were approved. This program, known as Derech Hadasha (New Path)for the integration of Ethiopian immigrants in Israeli society, was the first time in which representatives of the Ethiopian community were completely involved in all the hearings and decision-making  fora to rebuild trust and formulate a plan that would satisfy the community’s needs.

 

During Forer’s term as Director General, thousands of apartments were built for immigrants eligible for public housing alongside steps taken together with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Housing to increase assistance to immigrants waiting for public housing.

During his term, the Ministry began managing and funding the activity of the Israel Students Authority, which handles thousands of students. Furthermore, the Ministry established the new Youth Department.

 

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In the 20th Knesset, Oded Forer is a member of the Finance Committee; the Education, Culture and Sports Committee; and the Special Committee to Discuss the Motion for the Agenda on Difficulties in Reforming the Civil Service.

Forer chairs the Israel–Slovakia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Israel–Columbia Parliamentary Friendship Group, and the Israel–Serbia Parliamentary Friendship Group.

 

Oded Forer also chairs the Lobby for the Promotion of Trade in Israel and Overseas, and is member of the the Lobby for Relations between Israel and African Countries, the Lobby for Supervising Protected Tenancy and Protecting the Elderly, the Lobby for Lone Soldiers, the Lobby for Strengthening the Jewish World, the Lobby for the War Against Road Accidents, and the Lobby for the Promotion of the Rights of Druze and Circassians in Israel.

 

Oded Forer is married and the father of three.