About Israel Katz
Israel Katz is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for Likud currently serving as Minister of Defense and a member of the Security Cabinet of Israel. Katz has been recognized for his role in modernizing Israel's transportation infrastructure, including the expansion of highways, the development of high-speed rail, and reforms to Israel's ports that increased competition and reduced shipping costs. Katz has previously served as Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Transport, Minister of Intelligence, Minister of Energy, Minister of Finance, and twice as Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 5 November 2024, it was announced that he would be nominated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Defense Minister after Yoav Gallant was dismissed. Katz was first listed on 45th on Likud list on 1992 Israeli legislative election, but missed out when Likud only won 32 seats. Katz won 34th place on the Likud-Gesher-Tzomet list for the 1996 elections, but missed out on a place in the Knesset when the alliance won only 32 seats. The Jerusalem Post quoted Katz as saying that, "The first rule of war is know your enemy, and Europe and the current American government are unwilling to define this war as against Islamist terrorism. On 17 May 2020, Katz became Minister of Finance when the Thirty-fifth government of Israel was sworn in.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.