Haim Katz ( he, חַיִּים כַּץ, born 21 December 1947) is an Israeli politician. He currently serves as the

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

. Katz was the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services from 2015 to 2019, and served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

for One Nation between 1999 and 2003, and for

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel S ...

between 2003 and 2023.

Biography

Born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in 1947, Katz

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel in 1949. After finishing school and

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

he worked as an electronics technician. He became involved with

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s when he became a member of the workers' council at

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...

in 1983, and was also chairman of the technicians and engineers' union. In 1993 he became secretary of the National Workers Union of Israel Aircraft Industries, and was appointed chairman of the pension funds policy team of the

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

in 1996. Katz founded the ''Oz'' ( he, עוז, lit. ''Strength'') faction within the Histadrut. In 1999 Katz joined the new One Nation party. He was placed second on its list for the elections that year, and was elected to the Knesset when the party won two seats. Shortly before the 2003 election, he defected to

and was placed 37th on its list. He was re-elected as the party won 38 seats. As a Likud MK he was appointed Chairman of the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee. He also initiated a bill banning MKs from serving as head of the Histadrut, meaning Peretz had to resign from his post in the union. In the Likud primaries for the 2006 election, Katz gained thirteenth place on the party's list. Likud won only twelve seats and he lost his seat. However, when

Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky ( he, נתן שרנסקי; russian: Ната́н Щара́нский; uk, Натан Щаранський, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky on 20 January 1948); uk, Анатолій Борисович Щаранський, ...

resigned from the

in November 2006, Katz replaced him as the next member on the list. He retained his seat in the 2009 elections, for which he was placed fourteenth on the Likud list. He was re-elected again in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, after which he was appointed Minister of Welfare and Social Services in the 2015 Netanyahu government. On 15 December 2019 Katz announced that he would support Gideon Sa'ar in the Likud leadership election. On 9 November 2021, An indictment was filed against Katz by Attorney General

Avichai Mandelblit Avichai Mandelblit ( he, אביחי מנדלבליט; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who served as the Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually ser ...

, after Katz waived his parliamentary immunity and agreed to a plea deal. In December 2021 Katz admitted and was charged with the charges of a conflict of interest and conspiracy to achieve a lawful purpose by improper means. He is expected to be sentenced with suspended sentence and financial penalties. Katz was appointed

on 29 December 2022. He resigned from the Knesset on 6 January 2023 as part of the Norwegian Law. Katz lives in Shoham and is married with three children. He is also a member of the Israel Football Association.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Haim 1947 births Living people 20th-century German Jews One Nation (Israel) politicians Likud politicians German emigrants to Israel People from Givatayim Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Ministers of Labour of Israel Ministers of Tourism of Israel