She also previously served as the chief of staff to the director general of the Ministry of Social Equality.
She was elected to the Knesset in 2019 and has been notoriously difficult to get hold for interviews with the Israeli media.
Ms Yankelevich’s experience of the Jewish diaspora comes from her studies in the UK and her Russian background.
As a teenager, she taught Hebrew and Judaism in Russia and Ukraine.
Ms Yankelevich will succeed Likud's Tzipi Hotovely as minister of diaspora affairs.
Ms Yankelevich is the founder of the ‘Just Begun Foundation’, an organisation that seeks to promote the integration of those on the margins of Israeli society, especially Charedim.
Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog welcomed the appointment of Ms Yankelevich, saying that he would would work with anyone who “serves the unity of the Jewish people”.