David Hai Bitan (; born 8 April 1960) is an Israeli lawyer and politician. He currently serves as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

from the

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

party. During 2016 and 2017 he served as the Chairman of the Coalition and Chairman of the Likud party in the Knesset, and in the 23rd Knesset served as Chairman of the Immigration and Absorption Committee. Israeli attorney general Avichai Mandelblit announced on 26 January 2020 that Bitan would be indicted for "bribery, fraud and breach of trust, as well as money laundering and tax offenses" following a hearing.

Early and personal life

Bitan was born in

Kenitra Kenitra (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. His family immigrated to Israel when he was five. During his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or 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 ...

in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

he served as a combat medic. He then studied law at the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. After graduating with an L.L.B in 1987 and receiving a law license, he worked as an attorney and later opened his own law firm. Bitan is married to Hagit and they have two daughters.

Political career

A member of the Likud party, he became a member of the

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

City Council in 1988 after becoming head of the party's Rishon LeZion branch. He went on to become Deputy Mayor of the city. In 2010 Bitan was investigated for suspicion of ethical and integrity violations. Following the allegations, Bitan waived some of his responsibilities relating to construction within the municipality. He was later given responsibilities in the areas of transportation, culture and housing. Following the 2013 municipal elections, he was given back the responsibilities for engineering, along with chairmanship of the municipal sub committee for planning and construction. Bitan is a member of the board of trustees of the

Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

from 2011. He was placed 21st on the

list for the 2013 Knesset elections, but was moved down to 35th place after Likud agreed to run a joint list with

Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu (, ) is a conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may ...

. With the alliance winning 31 seats, Bitan did not become a Knesset member. Prior to the

2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...

he was placed 16th on the Likud list, taking the place reserved for the coastal plain. He was elected to the Knesset as the Likud won 30 seats and was sworn in as a Knesset member on 31 March 2015. He was appointed as chairman of the Knesset committee and in May 2016 he became Chairman of the coalition. In October 2017 Bitan was investigated by police for alleged bribery. He was suspected of received money from businessmen to pay off a massive debt while Deputy Mayor of Rishon LeZion. On 7 March 2019, the Israeli police recommended bribery charges against Bitan. He was placed 23rd on the Likud party list for the 21st Knesset and maintained the same place for the 22nd Knesset elections. He was appointed as deputy chairman of the Knesset. He was nominated to be Minister of Agriculture on 5 January 2020, but withdrew on 10 January prior to a Knesset vote on his appointment. In May 2020 he was appointed as Chairman of the Immigration and Absorption committee. On 2 October 2023 Bitan visited

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia among a 14-member delegation to attend the

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

's extraordinary congress.

Criminal indictment

On 6 July 2021 Bitan was indicted by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit for seven counts of bribery, money laundering, fraud, breach of trust and tax offenses totaling NIS 715,000. In 2022 Lea Sonik-Kuperli, a businesswoman and real estate asset manager, was sentenced to seven and a half months in prison after being convicted of bribing Bitan. According to the indictment, Sonik-Kuperli asked Bitan, who served as chairman of the Subcommittee for Licensing and Planning of the Rishon LeZion Local Committee, to assist in promoting her company's interests related to the arrangement of exceptional usage of public parking lots near the network branches in the city and the payment of betterment levy. In exchange for Bitan's assistance, Sonik-Kuperli complied with his request and provided him with NIS 40,000 through an intermediary connected to Bitan, in the form of checks made payable to the "Ping Pong Rishon LeZion School for Mini-Football and Soccer" association. Bitan was accused of receiving the benefits through an associate who provided the checks to the ping pong association and received cash in return.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitan, David 1960 births Living people 20th-century Israeli lawyers 21st-century Israeli lawyers Deputy mayors of places in Israel Deputy speakers of the Knesset Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Likud politicians 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–) Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from Kenitra People from Rishon LeZion Tel Aviv University alumni Gymnasia Realit alumni