Politicsגלית דיסטל אטבריאן

Galit Distel Atbaryan

Galit Distel Atbaryan is an Israeli writer and Likud politician who served as Israel's Information Minister in 2023.

born 1971Serving as Information MinisterLikud Knesset membershipRight-wing political commentaryNovels

Born: 10 January 1971, Jerusalem
Occupation: businessperson, educator, writer, opinion journalist
Party: Likud
Education: Tel Aviv University

Galit Distel Atbaryan was born in 1971 in Jerusalem

Distel Atbaryan was born in Jerusalem in 1971 to parents who immigrated to Israel from Iran in 1965. She grew up in Jerusalem and attended ORT high school. She studied philosophy at university.

She served in the Israeli Air Force as a welfare NCO.

In 1998 she moved to Greece with her husband Oded Distel for a diplomatic posting. After they returned and divorced, she sold clothing with her sister and wrote books. Her novel Peacock in the Stairwell was nominated for the 2015 Sapir Prize, and she later worked as a right-wing commentator on radio and in newspapers.

Benjamin Netanyahu placed her on the Likud list in 2021, and she was elected to the Knesset. In 2023 she became Information Minister and resigned on 12 October 2023 after criticism of the ministry, which the government then closed. Several of her public statements drew criticism, and in May 2026 she said she would not run again.