Matan Kahana

Matan Kahana was born in 1972 in Haifa

Kahana was born in Haifa in 1972 to Elia and Ora. As a baby he moved with his family to New York while his father studied, and the family later returned to Moshav Beit Gamliel. He studied at the school of Kibbutz Hafetz Haim and then at the Netiv Meir Yeshiva, and was a Bnei Akiva counselor.

He served as a combat soldier in Sayeret Matkal, then trained as a fighter pilot from 1994. He commanded 116 Squadron and later 109 Squadron, and flew in several Gaza operations and the Second Lebanon War. He retired from the IDF in 2018 as a colonel. He holds a law degree from Bar-Ilan University.

In 2019 he joined the New Right and entered the 22nd Knesset on the Yamina list. In 2021 he became Minister of Religious Services and promoted reforms in kashrut, conversion and the election of city rabbis. In 2022 he resigned as minister, served as deputy minister, and joined National Unity.

He resigned from the Knesset in July 2025 and joined Gadi Eisenkot's party Yashar in September 2025. He was elected to the 26th Knesset. He is married to Lisa, has 4 children and lives in Beit Gamliel.