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Ya'akov Katz (politician born 1951)
Encyclopedia
Ya’akov Dov "Katzele" Katz (born 29 September 1951) is an Israel
i politician. He currently leads the National Union
party, for whom he is a member of the Knesset
, and is also the Executive Director of Beit El
yeshiva
Center Institutions and Arutz Sheva
.
Yeshiva
High School in Kfar Haroeh
, and went on to study in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav
in Jerusalem.
and volunteered to serve in Sayeret
Shaked. He served under then OC Southern Command General Ariel Sharon
in the 1971 campaign to wipe out terrorist cells in Gaza
. In 1972, he completed his officers’ course with distinction and commanded his own commando unit in Sayeret Shaked.
With the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War
in 1973, Katz was second in command of "Koah Patzi", code name for a 12 man squad from Sayeret Shaked comprising only officers. Operating directly under Ariel Sharon, the squad carried out bloody missions primarily behind enemy lines. On the eighth day of the war, General Sharon sent Koah Patzi to locate and destroy the largest incursion yet of Egyptian commandos sent in to prevent the Israelis crossing over the Suez Canal
. In a key and bloody engagement, the 12 members of Koah Patzi killed the 70 entrenched Egypt
ian commandos. During the ensuing battle, Katz took a direct hit in his left hip by an RPG missile that left him near death. While lying in the desert sand seriously wounded, he made a personal oath to God, that should he survive, he would devote his life to settlement and education. Katz fought death for months afterward in Beilinson Hospital.
It was during that period that he met his future wife Tami, a sociology student at Bar-Ilan University
, who had volunteered to work in Beilinson Hospital
helping nurse the worst wounded.
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, under the tutelage of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and Mazkir Bnei Akiva Shlomo Aviner
. During that year he decided to establish the Beit El
settlement
in Samaria
in the West Bank
, for which he received the blessing of the late Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, head of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav, for the project. He founded the Gush Emunim
movement.
in 1977, Katz, with wife and children, were among the first ten families to establish the Israeli settlement
of Beit El
in the northern Judean Hills surrounding Jerusalem. Katz founded the Beit-El Yeshiva Center, an educational center comprising a myriad of institutions with over 1,200 students: the Beit El Yeshiva and Kollel, Teachers' College, Har Brakha
Hesder Yeshiva, Bnei Tzvi Yeshiva High School, Ra'aya Academy for Young Women (high school), Beit El Pre-Military Academy, as well as Arutz Sheva.
Ariel Sharon
's assistant. He was involved in the absorption of the olim
from the former Soviet Union
, and was responsible for building more than 35,000 housing units in East Jerusalem
, the West Bank
and the Golan Heights. These houses doubled the Jewish population beyond the Green Line
.
(Channel 7), as an alternative station with a national religious orientation. The station never received a license to broadcast. After the station was shutdown, in 2002, he founded the weekly Israeli newspaper BeSheva.
In 2003, he was convicted of operating an illegal radio station and on two counts of perjury for having lied about the location of the broadcasts. In 2006, President Moshe Katsav
pardoned him.
alliance. In the 2009 elections
the party won four seats, and Katz entered the Knesset.
Katz pledges to rebuild sovereign Jewish Gaza.
In a March 2010 proposal to curb illegal immigration
and the increase of illegal work aliens
, Katz has suggested that a "special town" be created in southern Israel that would be "less convenient and glamorous" then the currently attractive city of Tel Aviv
.
called "Aseh" containing songs with musical arrangements composed by Katz.
He is married with seven children.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician. He currently leads the National Union
National Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
party, for whom he is a member of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, and is also the Executive Director of Beit El
Beit El
Beit El is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a...
yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
Center Institutions and Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva is an Israeli media network identifying with Religious Zionism. It offers online news in English, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Russian. Arutz Sheva offers free podcasts, live streaming radio, a daily email news update, streaming video and 24 hour updated text news...
.
Early life
Katz was born 29 September 1951 in Jerusalem. A fifth generation Israeli, he graduated from the Bnei AkivaBnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 37 countries. It was established in Mandate Palestine in 1929.-History:...
Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
High School in Kfar Haroeh
Kfar Haroeh
Kfar Haroeh is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain between Hadera and Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 1,500....
, and went on to study in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav
Mercaz haRav
Mercaz HaRav , more properly, Mercaz HaRav Kook ), is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. It has become synonymous with his teachings....
in Jerusalem.
Military career
In 1970, he enlisted in the IDFIsrael Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
and volunteered to serve in Sayeret
Sayeret
Sayeret , literally means "reconnaissance unit" in the Israel Defense Forces . In practice, these units specialize in commando and other special forces roles, in addition to reconnaissance...
Shaked. He served under then OC Southern Command General Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
in the 1971 campaign to wipe out terrorist cells in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. In 1972, he completed his officers’ course with distinction and commanded his own commando unit in Sayeret Shaked.
With the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
in 1973, Katz was second in command of "Koah Patzi", code name for a 12 man squad from Sayeret Shaked comprising only officers. Operating directly under Ariel Sharon, the squad carried out bloody missions primarily behind enemy lines. On the eighth day of the war, General Sharon sent Koah Patzi to locate and destroy the largest incursion yet of Egyptian commandos sent in to prevent the Israelis crossing over the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. In a key and bloody engagement, the 12 members of Koah Patzi killed the 70 entrenched Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian commandos. During the ensuing battle, Katz took a direct hit in his left hip by an RPG missile that left him near death. While lying in the desert sand seriously wounded, he made a personal oath to God, that should he survive, he would devote his life to settlement and education. Katz fought death for months afterward in Beilinson Hospital.
It was during that period that he met his future wife Tami, a sociology student at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, who had volunteered to work in Beilinson Hospital
Rabin Medical Center
The Rabin Medical Center is a medical center in Petah Tikva, Israel. It is currently the second largest medical center in Israel after Sheba Medical Center, having lost the title of largest in 2006...
helping nurse the worst wounded.
Beit El
After six months in hospital, he returned, on crutches, to study four more years in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRavMercaz haRav
Mercaz HaRav , more properly, Mercaz HaRav Kook ), is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. It has become synonymous with his teachings....
, under the tutelage of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and Mazkir Bnei Akiva Shlomo Aviner
Shlomo Aviner
Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner is the rosh yeshiva of the Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva in Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.-Background:Ha-Rav Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner was born in 5703 in German-occupied...
. During that year he decided to establish the Beit El
Beit El
Beit El is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a...
settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
in Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, for which he received the blessing of the late Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, head of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav, for the project. He founded the Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim was an Israeli messianic and political movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank. While not formally established as an organization until 1974 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, Gush Emunim sprang out of the conquests of the Six-Day War in 1967, encouraging...
movement.
Later Years
With the election of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem BeginMenachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
in 1977, Katz, with wife and children, were among the first ten families to establish the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Beit El
Beit El
Beit El is an Israeli settlement and a local council in the Benjamin region of the central West Bank, within the borders of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council. The religiously observant town is located in the hills north of Jerusalem east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh. In 2009, it had a...
in the northern Judean Hills surrounding Jerusalem. Katz founded the Beit-El Yeshiva Center, an educational center comprising a myriad of institutions with over 1,200 students: the Beit El Yeshiva and Kollel, Teachers' College, Har Brakha
Har Brakha
Har Brakha is a communal village and an Israeli settlement located on the southern ridge of Mount Gerizim at an elevation of 870 metres above sea level, in the West Bank's Samarian mountains near Nablus...
Hesder Yeshiva, Bnei Tzvi Yeshiva High School, Ra'aya Academy for Young Women (high school), Beit El Pre-Military Academy, as well as Arutz Sheva.
Bureaucratic life
Katz then served as then Housing and Development MinisterHousing and Construction Minister of Israel
The Ministry of Housing and Construction is a portfolio in the Israeli cabinet. The ministry was created in 1961, and until 1977 it was known as the Ministry of Housing. Construction was also previously part of the Labour and Construction ministry during the provisional government between 1948 and...
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
's assistant. He was involved in the absorption of the olim
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
from the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and was responsible for building more than 35,000 housing units in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
, the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and the Golan Heights. These houses doubled the Jewish population beyond the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
.
Media
In 1987, Katz bought an oceangoing vessel upon which to set up a radio station, Arutz ShevaArutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva is an Israeli media network identifying with Religious Zionism. It offers online news in English, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Russian. Arutz Sheva offers free podcasts, live streaming radio, a daily email news update, streaming video and 24 hour updated text news...
(Channel 7), as an alternative station with a national religious orientation. The station never received a license to broadcast. After the station was shutdown, in 2002, he founded the weekly Israeli newspaper BeSheva.
In 2003, he was convicted of operating an illegal radio station and on two counts of perjury for having lied about the location of the broadcasts. In 2006, President Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav
Moshe Katsav is an Israeli politician. He served as the eighth President of Israel, a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset, and a Cabinet Minister in its government....
pardoned him.
Political career
In December 2008, Katz became chairman of the National UnionNational Union (Israel)
The National Union is an alliance of nationalist political parties in Israel. In the 2009 elections the National Union consisted of four parties: Moledet, Hatikva, Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, and Tkuma.-Background:...
alliance. In the 2009 elections
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
the party won four seats, and Katz entered the Knesset.
Katz pledges to rebuild sovereign Jewish Gaza.
In a March 2010 proposal to curb illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and the increase of illegal work aliens
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
, Katz has suggested that a "special town" be created in southern Israel that would be "less convenient and glamorous" then the currently attractive city of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
Personal life
Akiva Margaliot released a CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
called "Aseh" containing songs with musical arrangements composed by Katz.
He is married with seven children.