the new party's list, and retained his seat in the subsequent elections. In 2009 Orlev sponsored a Private member's bill that called for a years imprisonment for any person who denied Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state, a law that would have criminalized calls by members of the Arab minority for Israel to be a state for all its citizens. The bill was castigated as racist and discriminatory, and a media outcry following the bill passing its first reading in the Knesset led to the bill ultimately being defeated. The bill was criticized as an exercise in thought police and as being an assault on freedom of speech, and called "racist and fascist" by the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel. The Mossawa Center described the bill as "discriminatory and racist". Uri Avnery placed the bill in the context as being one in a series of racist laws, writing that it "does not stand out at all in today’s political landscape", describing Orlev's Jewish Home party as "ultra-ultra-ultra racist" and trying to outdo the other right-wing parties. Orlev was criticized for proposing a bill that would mandate divorced fathers to pay child support until their children reached age 22, though he later retracted and stated he would not pursue the bill. In 2012, he called for the Third Temple to be built in Jerusalem, as well as legislation to protect the project from prosecution and the "hostile, secular, left-wing media". He also proposed a Private Members Bill to override an Israeli Supreme Court ruling ordering the demolition five buildings in an Israeli settlement. Orlev announced that he would retire from politics after he ran unsuccessfully in the 2012 The Jewish Home leadership election. Orlev did not run in the 2013 elections. He is a co-president of the international Mizrachi movement, which the National Religious Party and its successor Jewish Home represents in the political arena. References External links 1945 births Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli civil servants Living people Israeli Orthodox Jews National Religious Party leaders People from Rehovot Religious Zionism Recipients of the Medal of Distinguished Service The Jewish Home politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)