Who is Israel Katz, Israel’s new Defense Minister?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and appointed Israel Katz, former Foreign Minister, as his replacement. Katz, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, has held various ministerial positions but lacks significant military leadership experience.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unexpectedly dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday. Since Netanyahu's most recent election as prime minister in 2022, Gallant, 65, has been the defense minister in Netanyahu's government. Netanyahu claimed that Gallant's leadership of Israel's military activities, which include the ongoing battle in Gaza and Lebanon, had lost his faith.

Who is Israel Katz? Netanyahu appoints former Foreign Minister as Yoav Gallant replacement

Katz was born in Ashkelon, a seaside city in Israel, in 1955. He was inducted into the military in 1973 and served as a paratrooper before quitting in 1977. In contrast to his predecessor Gallant, who was a general before taking on the role of defense minister in 2022, he has not held any major military leadership positions.

He has served in the Knesset (parliament) since 1998 and is a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party. He was a member of various committees in the Knesset, including those that dealt with justice, defense, and foreign policy.

Over the last 20 years, he has held a number of ministerial positions in the fields of agriculture, transportation, intelligence, finance, and energy. In 2019, he was named foreign minister. Katz, in his capacity as foreign minister, proclaimed Antonio Guterres persona non grata in October due to what he saw as antisemitic and anti-Israel behavior and what he claimed was the U.N. secretary-general's unwillingness to "unequivocally" denounce Iran's missile strike on Israel.

Since October 7, 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made 11 trips to Israel, with Katz playing a relatively low-key role in Israeli-U.S. relations. While Blinken meets with Gallant on a frequent basis, the senior U.S. official has met with Katz only a few times. Katz attended Hebrew University in Israel for both his undergraduate and graduate studies. He has two kids and is married.