Who Is Israel Katz, Israel’s New Defense Minister?

by · NY Times

Who Is Israel Katz, Israel’s New Defense Minister?

The prime minister has replaced an experienced former general with Mr. Katz, who had been foreign minister and who has staunchly supported Israel’s right-wing government.

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Israel Katz addressing the United Nations General Assembly in 2019, during an earlier stint as Israel’s foreign minister. He was named defense minister on Tuesday.
Credit...Brittainy Newman for The New York Times

By Eve Sampson

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel named Israel Katz as the country’s new defense minister after firing Yoav Gallant on Tuesday over policy differences amid wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Mr. Katz, who was serving as the foreign minister, has been a staunch ally of the prime minister and is viewed as unlikely to criticize or push back against Mr. Netanyahu’s hard-line approach to cease-fire discussions.

In a video statement issued by his office, Mr. Netanyahu announced the change and said Gideon Saar would replace Mr. Katz as foreign minister.

Mr. Katz’s tenure as foreign minister was defined by the regional conflict, as he sought to defend Israel against increasingly fierce and widespread global criticism for how it carried out the war, first against Hamas in Gaza and later against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both militant groups are backed by Iran, a country which attacked and was attacked by Israel during his time as the country’s top diplomat.

After Israel barred the secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, from the country last month for failing to strenuously condemn an Iranian missile attack, one of the largest such barrages in history, Mr. Katz criticized him. In a statement, Mr. Katz said of the secretary general “anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil.”

Mr. Katz previously served as foreign minister from 2019-2020 before being reappointed in early 2024 as part of a political agreement implemented before the country’s war against Hamas. He is a former member of the Israeli Parliament and has worked in other government positions such as minister of finance, transportation, energy and agriculture.

He has never held a top military position, unlike the popular Mr. Gallant, an experienced former general.

After former President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, Mr. Katz, then serving as a minister of transportation and intelligence, petitioned to name a train station after the American leader, “for his courageous and historic decision.”

Like the prime minister, Mr. Katz is a decades-long member of the Likud party and a supporter of the settlement movement.

Before firing Mr. Gallant on Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu had clashed with him both over the conduct of the war and domestic issues.

The two disagreed over proposals for the future administration of Gaza and the cease-fire talks. They also disagreed over legislation supporting the overhaul of the Israeli judiciary and about the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the country’s armed forces.

“In recent months, the trust between me and the defense minister was damaged,” Mr. Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

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