Ron Katz

Katz was born on October 4, 1985, and grew up in Petah Tikva, where he attended Golda High School.[1][2] He pursued a legal career and served in the Israel Defense Forces through the academic reserve program, working as a lawyer in the Military Advocate General's Corps.[1] His last posting in the IDF was as head of the Corps' Foreign Relations Section, and he was discharged holding the rank of captain.[1]

Following his military service, Katz worked as a civilian lawyer specializing in family law and wills.[1] He joined Yesh Atid in 2013 and became active in the party's grassroots organization in Petah Tikva.[1]

Katz rose to become Yesh Atid's local leader in Petah Tikva and was described by 2021 as a prominent figure in the municipality.[1][2] From 2018, he served simultaneously as a deputy mayor, as a paid acting mayor, and as head of the city's Education Administration.[1][2]

His years in Petah Tikva also produced an unlikely cross-party friendship. Moshe Arbel, then a synagogue rabbi in the city and later a Shas politician, became acquainted with Katz during this period. The two later lived in the same apartment building — Arbel on the first floor, Katz on the seventh — and their families shared Friday-night meals, even as the two men belonged to opposing political camps. Arbel later recalled occasionally meeting Katz outside the building as Arbel went to pray and Katz went to protest against the judicial overhaul.[5] The relationship extended to parliamentary cooperation: Katz sought Arbel's assistance with a proposal to reduce bureaucracy in switching health funds, and Arbel directed ministry staff to advance it.[5]

Yesh Atid placed Katz 16th on its candidate list for the March 23, 2021 election to the 24th Knesset.[3] The party won 17 seats in that election, bringing Katz into the Knesset as one of its members.[3] His election was noted in a profile of incoming members that described him as a 35-year-old lawyer and former deputy mayor of Petah Tikva.[1]

For the November 1, 2022 election to the 25th Knesset, Katz appeared 17th on Yesh Atid's official candidate list.[6][2] The party won 24 seats in that contest, securing his continued service in the Knesset.[2]

Katz was active across several Knesset committees and legislative fronts during his time in office. In December 2023, he served as acting chair of the Economy Committee during a discussion of a Bank of Israel credit program worth up to NIS 10 billion for small and micro-businesses. The program operated through the banking system and excluded non-bank lenders; Katz challenged Bank of Israel representatives, saying the committee had requested a revised framework, and warned that it might legislate to require the fund to be opened to non-bank institutions as well.[7]

In February 2025, Katz participated in a Knesset discussion on violence at sporting events and promoted a bill to stiffen penalties for sports-related disorder. The proposal called for up to three years' imprisonment for offenders and doubled fines for throwing objects and using pyrotechnics at sporting venues. Katz argued that spectators caught committing such offenses should face substantial consequences.[8]

In April 2025, Katz requested a second Economy Committee session focused on Wolt and competition in the delivery market. He pressed the Competition Authority on questions of restaurant exclusivity agreements, platform pricing practices, and whether Wolt should be declared a monopoly. Katz asserted that the price difference between an item purchased through the platform and the same item at a restaurant reached 25%, and argued for a structural separation that would allow customers to choose between platform prices and direct restaurant prices.[9]

In July 2026, Katz notified Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of his resignation and stated that he would not seek election to the next Knesset.[10] He cited roughly fifteen years of public service as the basis for his decision to step away. "After 15 years of meaningful public service, it is time to take a break from public life and begin a new chapter," he said.[4] He also reflected on what the role had meant to him: "Public service was, for me, a mission and a great privilege. It offers an opportunity to do the greatest thing in the world: to do good for another person."[11]

Katz chose to submit his resignation during the Knesset recess rather than wait for the body to reconvene, explaining that he did not think it was right to continue receiving a public salary after having already decided to leave.[4][10] Yesh Atid described him as a longtime grassroots activist and one of the pillars of its grassroots organization, and announced that Muhammad Abu al-Hija would take his Knesset seat.[4][10]

Reporting at the time noted that Katz's departure came amid a period of polling weakness for the "Beyachad" joint list and that several Yesh Atid lawmakers had announced departures around the same period; Katz himself cited personal reasons rather than electoral considerations in his public statements.[10]

One politically contested initiative associated with Katz concerned UNRWA. In July 2024, Katz was identified as the Yesh Atid sponsor of a proposal to strip UNRWA personnel operating in Israel of the legal immunities and privileges ordinarily extended to United Nations staff, including property-tax exemptions.[12][13] The proposal was nearly identical to one filed separately by Likud MK Dan Illouz, and a Knesset committee discussion considered merging the two measures with additional related proposals. A National Security Council legal adviser stated at the time that the legislation should proceed only if it did not harm Israel's international obligations or its access to humanitarian aid.[12]

In October 2024, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved a consolidated bill combining proposals from Katz, Illouz, and MK Yulia Malinovsky. The combined measure provided for ending the 1967 Israel–UNRWA agreement, barring Israeli government agencies and officials from contacting UNRWA, and removing certain immunities and privileges for UNRWA workers. The bill was sent back to the Knesset plenum for further readings. The legislation was presented as a response to allegations concerning UNRWA employees and facilities; UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the measures could obstruct aid and services for Palestinian refugees.[13]