Israel Katz

Israel Katz was born in 1955 in Ashkelon

Katz was born in Ashkelon in 1955 to Meir and Malka Katz, Holocaust survivors from the Maramureș region of Romania. He grew up on Moshav Kfar Ahim and studied at the Or Etzion yeshiva high school.

He joined the IDF in 1973 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade, later as a platoon commander. He then studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he chaired the student union from 1980 to 1981. In 1981 he was suspended for a year after locking the rector in his office during a protest.

In the 1980s he worked with Ariel Sharon and served as his aide at the Ministry of Industry and Trade until 1988. He entered the Knesset in November 1998, replacing Ehud Olmert. In 2003 he became Minister of Agriculture and left the cabinet in January 2006.

In 2009 he became Minister of Transportation, and from 2015 he was also Minister of Intelligence. He later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance from 2020 and Minister of Energy. In November 2024 he was nominated as Minister of Defense after Yoav Gallant was dismissed.